Plant use and agriculture during the middle Yangshao period: new macrobotanical evidence from Yuancun site, southern Shanxi Province, central northern China

Abstract

Understanding prehistoric plant resource utilization and agricultural diffusion is essential for exploring early social complexity and civilization development. The Yuncheng Basin in northern China, a core area of Yangshao culture, has been underexplored in terms of ancient plant use. This study examines plant resource use strategies during the middle Yangshao period (5600–5100 cal. BP) at the Yuancun site through macro-botanical analysis, and investigates the northward spread of rice cultivation and the basin’s role in this process. Results revealing deliberate plant management with concentrations in ash pits H201 and H202. H201 likely transitioned from a storage facility to a refuse deposit, while H202 may have served as a new composite storage unit. The crop assemblage was dominated by foxtail millet and broomcorn millet, indicating a dual-crop system adapted to local saline-alkaline soils near the salt lake, possibly through selection for stress tolerance and yield balance. The wild plant also played an essential role such as Lespedeza and Melilotus The limited presence of rice suggests occasional use or cultivation. Rice likely spread northward via multiple routes, highlighting Yuncheng’s role as a transitional corridor between the Central Plains and northern agro-pastoral regions. These findings illustrate a composite subsistence strategy that integrated ecological adaptation with interregional cultural exchange, contributing to the emergence of early social complexity in northern China