The Inner Asian Mountain Corridor(IAMC)acted as a crossroads of trans-Eurasian exchange since approximately 6000 cal.yr BP.The history of the introduction and utilization of crops and livestock in the area has been in...The Inner Asian Mountain Corridor(IAMC)acted as a crossroads of trans-Eurasian exchange since approximately 6000 cal.yr BP.The history of the introduction and utilization of crops and livestock in the area has been intensively discussed,while geographical-temporal variations of human activities and subsistence strategies remain unclear.Here we report new zooarchaeological data and radiocarbon dates from the Naba Cemeteries,revealing herbivorous livestock were predominant animal resource during both the Bronze and Early Iron Ages,and sheep/goat and horse were paramount sacrificial animals in these two periods,respectively.In tandem with published radiocarbon dates,zooarchaeological and archaeobotanical data from IAMC's prehistoric sites,we detect humans mainly engaged in hunting-gathering games in the IAMC during 8000-5000 cal.yr BP.During 5000-4000 cal.yr BP,the territory of agro-pastoral groups evidently expanded in the IAMC with a hotspot in the Altai Region,and wheat and barley were introduced into the area.In the following two millennia,herding became an economic mainstay,and cultivations of crops were ubiquitous in the IAMC's oases.We argue that prehistoric human activities in the IAMC were mainly affected by agro-pastoral expansions associated with exchanges across the Eurasia,which was likely promoted by climate change.展开更多
基金The NSFC-INSF Joint Research Project,No.42261144670The Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research Program,No.2019QZKK0601。
文摘The Inner Asian Mountain Corridor(IAMC)acted as a crossroads of trans-Eurasian exchange since approximately 6000 cal.yr BP.The history of the introduction and utilization of crops and livestock in the area has been intensively discussed,while geographical-temporal variations of human activities and subsistence strategies remain unclear.Here we report new zooarchaeological data and radiocarbon dates from the Naba Cemeteries,revealing herbivorous livestock were predominant animal resource during both the Bronze and Early Iron Ages,and sheep/goat and horse were paramount sacrificial animals in these two periods,respectively.In tandem with published radiocarbon dates,zooarchaeological and archaeobotanical data from IAMC's prehistoric sites,we detect humans mainly engaged in hunting-gathering games in the IAMC during 8000-5000 cal.yr BP.During 5000-4000 cal.yr BP,the territory of agro-pastoral groups evidently expanded in the IAMC with a hotspot in the Altai Region,and wheat and barley were introduced into the area.In the following two millennia,herding became an economic mainstay,and cultivations of crops were ubiquitous in the IAMC's oases.We argue that prehistoric human activities in the IAMC were mainly affected by agro-pastoral expansions associated with exchanges across the Eurasia,which was likely promoted by climate change.
