Kulturgeschichte Chinas in Karten: Digitalisierung der archäologischen Fundplatzkartierungen aus der Buchreihe „Atlas der Kulturdenkmäler Chinas“, vom Frühneolithikum bis zur frühen Eisenzeit (ca. 8000-500 v. Chr.)

Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit konnten erstmals aus 27 Provinzen, Autonomen Regionen und Regierungsunmittelbaren Städten Chinas 51.536 archäologische Fundplätze vom frühen Neolithikum bis zur frühen Eisenzeit aus den in der chinesischen Buchreihe „Atlas der Kulturdenkmäler Chinas“ veröffentlichten „analogen” Daten digitalisiert und mit geographischen Koordinaten und synchronen Chronologien versehen und dynamisch über Zeit und Raum analysiert werden. Die Daten sind eine einzigartige Sammlung von archäologischen Fundplatzdaten über fast gesamt China, die als Ergebnis dieser Arbeit der internationalen Forschung als wichtiges Hilfsmittel digital zur Verfügung stehen. Die Daten können im Rahmen von aktuellen Forschungsfragen zur Frühzeit Chinas genutzt werden, wie dem Beginn und der Ausbreitung von Landwirtschaft (z.B. Hirse, Reis, Schweine und Hühner), mit der Änderung von Subsistenzwirtschaften einhergehende Bevölkerungsdynamiken, wie Bevölkerungswachstum oder -rezession durch Interpolation von Fundplatzzahlen auf Bevölkerungszahlen, und auch die geographische Ausbreitung dieser. Im Zusammenhang mit Daten aus anderen Ländern können auch überregionale Fragen, wie z.B. der Austausch von Innovationen innerhalb der Länder Ostasiens, aber auch mit denen Zentral- und Vorderasiens und Europa adressiert werden. Fragen zu Mensch-Umwelt-Beziehungen aber auch der Einfluss von klimatischen Veränderungen können mit den vorliegenden Daten ebenfalls unterstützt werden. Die Ergebnisse zeigen deutlich die chronologischen Fundplatzentwicklungen über gesamt China, besonders in den kulturellen Kernregionen in Nord- und Zentralchina in den Einzugsgebieten des Gelben Flusses und des Wei-Flusses und in Nordostchina im Liao-Fluss-Tal und der modernen Provinz Liaoning. Im Süden Chinas entlang des Jangtse und seiner Zuflüsse. Der Norden und Süden Chinas zeigen deutliche Unterschiede in den Fundplatzzahlen über den analysierten Zeitraum. Eine erste Zunahme ist bereits im fünften Jahrtausend v. Chr. sichtbar und die höchsten Fundplatzkonzentrationen lassen sich in der Bronzezeit im zweiten Jahrtausend v. Chr. bis in die erste Hälfte des ersten Jahrtausends v. Chr. erkennen. Im Vergleich dazu bleiben die Fundplatzzahlen im Süden Chinas während des gesamten Neolithikums vergleichsweise niedrig, was das Bild der kulturellen Entwicklung in China etwas verzerrt, da dies wahrscheinlich auch Forschungsstand und Fundplatzerhaltung wiedergibt. Ein erster signifikanter Anstieg an Fundplatzzahlen ist in Südchina erst in der Mitte des zweiten Jahrtausends v. Chr. zu verzeichnen. Ein Maximum an Fundplatzzahlen wird in beiden Teilen Chinas um ca. 1000 v. Chr. erreicht, allerdings um einen Faktor ca. 400 höher in Nordchina. Eine besonders signifikante Veränderung in den Fundplatzmustern findet zwischen dem späten Neolithikum (ca. 2350 v. Chr.) und der frühen Bronzezeit (ca. 1750 v. Chr.) statt. Die im Rahmen dieser Arbeit erzeugten Fundplatzdichteanalysen zeigen eine deutliche Verlagerung der Fundplatzdichten vom Einzugsgebiet des Wei-Flusses und mittleren bis unteren Gelben Flusses hin in den Nordosten Chinas in das Einzugsgebiet des Liao-Flusses.In this study a total of 51,536 archaeological sites ranging from the early Neolithic to the early Iron Age were digitalized and dynamically analysed for the first time. The data covers 27 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities of China and was published in ‘analog’ form in the Chinese book series ‘Atlas of Chinese Cultural Relics’ . The archaeological site data was digitalized, and geographical coordinates and synchronous chronologies were added. This data is a unique collection of archaeological site data covering nearly complete China, which can be used to support the international research as a result of this study. It can address recent research questions regarding early China, as the origin and spread of agriculture (i.e. millet, rice, pigs, chicken), changes of population dynamics in relation to changes in the subsistence strategies, like population growth or -recession, made possible by the interpolation of site numbers to human population numbers as well as the spread of human populations. In combination with data from other countries it can also address international questions, i.e. the exchange of innovations across the countries of East Asia, but also across Central Asia, the Near East and Europe. Questions related the Human-Environment-Relations but also the influence of climatic changes can be addressed as well. The results show clearly the chronological development of sites over nearly complete China, especially in the cultural core regions of northern and central China, catchment area of the Yellow River and the Wei-River and in the northeast with the Liao-River Basin and the modern province of Liaoning and the southern part of China along the Yangtze and its tributaries. The site numbers of the northern and southern parts of China clearly reflect significant differences during the analyzed periods. A first increase is already visible in the fifth millennium BC. In comparison the site numbers in the southern part of China stay relatively low during the whole Neolithic, what distorts a bit the picture of cultural development in the southern part of China. It can be assumed that this fact is reflecting the current state of research and the preservation of archaeological sites. A first noticeable increase in site numbers is in southern China in the mid of the second millennium BC visible. A maximum of site numbers is reached in both parts of China around c. 1000 BC, but with a factor c. 400 higher in the northern part of China. An especially significant change in site distribution patterns occurred between the late Neolithic (c. 2350 BC) and the early Bronze Age (c. 1750 BC). The analysis shows a radical north-eastern shift of the site-density clusters from the catchment areas of the Wei-River and the middle to lower Yellow river to the northeast of China in the catchment area of the Liao-River

An overview

A total of 51,074 archaeological sites from the early Neolithic to the early Iron Age (c. 8000–500 BC), with a spatial extent covering most regions of China (c. 73–131°E and c. 20–53°N), were analysed over space and time in this study. Site maps of 25 Chinese provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, published in the series ‘Atlas of Chinese Cultural Relics’, were used to extract, digitalise and correlate its archaeological data. The data were, in turn, entered into a database using a self-developed mapping software that makes the data, in a dynamic way, analysable as a contribution to various scientific questions, such as population growth and migrations, spread of agriculture and changes in subsistence strategies. The results clearly show asynchronous patterns of changes between the northern and southern parts of China (i.e. north and south of the Yangtze River, respectively) but also within these macro-regions. In the northern part of China (i.e. along the Yellow River and its tributaries and in the Xiliao River basin), the first noticeable increase in the concentration of Neolithic sites occurred between c. 5000 and 4000 BC; however, highest site concentrations were reached between c. 2000 and 500 BC. Our analysis shows a radical north- eastern shift of high site-density clusters (over 50 sites per 100 × 100 km grid cell) from the Wei and middle/lower Yellow Rivers to the Liao River system sometime between 2350 BC and 1750 BC. This shift is hypothetically discussed in the context of the incorporation of West Asian domesticated animals and plants into the existing northern Chinese agricultural system. In the southern part of China, archaeological sites do not show a noticeable increase in the absolute number of sites until after c. 1500 BC, reaching a maximum around 1000 BC

Yanghai, China. Neues zur Geschichte der Bekleidungstechnologie. Die Erfindung von Wirkerei auf Köper. Projekt »Silk Road Fashion«. Die Arbeiten der Jahre 2020 und 2021

Ancient knowledge of the textile production belongs to the world’s intangible cultural heritage and shapes the appearance of most people worldwide when used for clothing. However, their ancient roots can seldom be studied because archaeological textiles and looms on which they were produced decay in most environments without trace. This report presents highlight results of fabric techniques of the wool garments of the ›Turfan man‹, buried ca. 1200–1000 BCE at Yanghai, located in the Turfan oasis in Northwest China. The studied textiles are local products showing advancements of wool technologies developed in the southern (tapestry) and northern (twill) parts of West Asia, which were transferred and further refined by woolworkers via as of yet u­nknown areas in central and northern Eurasia. From clues of the textiles, the possible design of the weaving device was inferred

Peking/Ningbo, China: Unterwasserarchäologie

Research and protection of heritage under water, mostly shipwrecks along the “silk roads of the sea” are very high on the list of priorities in China. The National Center of Underwater Cultural Heritage in Beijing with several research bases at sea ports and lake shores is responsible for documentation, salvage and conservation of sites and finds and organizes training programs. Dominic Hosner of the DAI’s Beijing Branch Office was the first invited international underwater archaeologist to join the diving squad in 2014 for excavating cargo from a ship which sank between 1821 and 1850 off the coast near Ningbo city

Archaeological sites in China during the Neolithic and Bronze Age

A total of 51,074 archaeological sites from the early Neolithic to the early Iron Age (c. 8000-500 BC), with a spatial extent covering most regions of China (c. 73-131°E and c. 20-53°N), were analysed over space and time in this study. Site maps of 25 Chinese provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, published in the series 'Atlas of Chinese Cultural Relics', were used to extract, digitalise and correlate its archaeological data. The data were, in turn, entered into a database using a self-developed mapping software that makes the data, in a dynamic way, analysable as a contribution to various scientific questions, such as population growth and migrations, spread of agriculture and changes in subsistence strategies. The results clearly show asynchronous patterns of changes between the northern and southern parts of China (i.e. north and south of the Yangtze River, respectively) but also within these macro-regions. In the northern part of China (i.e. along the Yellow River and its tributaries and in the Xiliao River basin), the first noticeable increase in the concentration of Neolithic sites occurred between c. 5000 and 4000 BC; however, highest site concentrations were reached between c. 2000 and 500 BC. Our analysis shows a radical north-eastern shift of high site-density clusters (over 50 sites per 100 * 100 km grid cell) from the Wei and middle/lower Yellow Rivers to the Liao River system sometime between 2350 BC and 1750 BC. This shift is hypothetically discussed in the context of the incorporation of West Asian domesticated animals and plants into the existing northern Chinese agricultural system. In the southern part of China, archaeological sites do not show a noticeable increase in the absolute number of sites until after c. 1500 BC, reaching a maximum around 1000 BC

The invention of twill tapestry points to Central Asia : archaeological record of multiple textile techniques used to make the woollen outfit of a ca. 3000-year-old horse rider from Turfan, China

Ancient knowledge of the textile arts production and weaving techniques belong to the world's intangible cultural heritage and shape the appearance of most people worldwide when used for clothing. However, their ancient roots can be seldom studied because archaeological textiles and looms on which they were produced decay in most environments without trace. This article presents technical details of fabric and finishing techniques of eight wool garments of a horseman buried ca. 1200–1000 BCE at Yanghai, located in the Turfan oasis in Northwest China. They show an unprecedented diversity and a free combination of three weaving techniques and one type of weft twining supplemented by at least three different braiding methods to finish and fasten the clothes. All techniques were validated by reproduction. The most complex piece of the costume, the man's trousers, known as one of the oldest preserved to date, was made with four different textile techniques on one device, two of them are new discoveries and termed “Yanghai dovetailed twill tapestry” and “Yanghai weft twining”. The studied textiles are local products showing advancements of wool technologies developed in the southern (tapestry) and northern (twill) parts of West Asia, which were transferred and further refined by wool-workers via as yet unknown areas in central and northern Eurasia. A specific inclined T-hook pattern zone at the trousers' knees finds close correspondence with patterns on ritual bronze vessels of the late Shang dynasty in the Chinese Central Plains, ca. 1300–1100 BCE, and on pottery of the Andronovo-Federovo archaeological complex in southwest Siberia and Central Asia, ca. 1800–1000 BCE. Since the appearance of this pattern in Northwest and Central China coincides with the arrival of domesticated horses and associated technologies, the horse breeders likely were the mediators. The stepped pyramid or merlon pattern might refer to architectural features of Eastern Iran and the middle Bronze Age Oxus civilisation. To verify the possible connections, however, is subject to future studies

Make EU trade with Brazil sustainable

Brazil, home to one of the planet's last great forests, is currently in trade negotiations with its second largest trading partner, the European Union (EU). We urge the EU to seize this critical opportunity to ensure that Brazil protects human rights and the environment