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