Study Of The Prehistoric Population Of The Middle And Lower Reaches Of The Yellow River

Population is an important aspect of the development of complex societies. Large-scale population change can have a significant influence on the development of society. It is linked with the increasing complexity of social structure, and the emergence of civilization and early states. Yet large-scale population change can directly reflect changes in climate, environment, and natural resources availability. Population is mutually linked with society, environment, and resources, and it can also function to accelerate or suspend the development of society. The prehistoric era (c. 9000-3600y BP) is an important period of change in Chinese population and social complexity. In recent years, archaeological data on population from this period has continued to increase, but little systemic research has been conducted to date and has become a void in our understanding Chinese prehistory.Because of this, the present thesis carries out systematic research in order to clarify the geographical distribution of the prehistoric population, the course of its development and change, and the gender and age structure as components of the population. It moves on to a discussion of population and its relationship with society, environment, and natural resources, as well as exactly how population functions in increasing social complexity and its overall scientific significance. Selecting the typical area of study in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River valley (the "heart" of Chinese civilization) no doubt has innate advantages because it can better explain how population functions as a component of increasing social complexity.The thesis has four main parts.The first part introduces the significance of this study, the history and current status of population research, and the main content, theories, and methods used in the study. The history of previous research both within China and in other countries has two main stages. The first encompasses the period before the 1960s, while the second starts afterwards and is the primary stage for development of population studies. It then sets out to collect and organize data from prehistoric settlement sites in the middle and lower Yellow River valley. An analysis of tombs and settlements throughout different cultural phases is first employed to provide a foundation upon which additional studies can be carried out. These additional studies include the scale and distribution of the population and the structure of gender and age. This approach provides an understanding of the different settlement components within the population, and how burials and residences are situated within a settlement. Itthen discusses how population is related to social structure, the environment, and natural resources availability, as well as the role of population in the overall development of complex societyThe second part of the thesis is a study of prehistoric population demographics in the middle and lower Yellow River valley. It has two chapters. The first chapter investigates the scale of the prehistoric population in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. It includes four sections, discussing the developmental change and distribution of population, respectively, during the Peiligang, Yangshao, Longshan, and Erlitou periods.Section I concentrates on the study of population size during the Peiligang period. Forming the base of analysis is the systematic arrangement of settlement site data from different areas, and the selection of typical burial and settlement data for further analysis. These typical sites are chosen for the calculation of per capita land use. Then, through the analysis of sites at the city and county level with relatively abundant archaeological data, population density can be determined and an average population density throughout the whole area can be estimated. These results combined with the total acreage of each area allows for an elementary calculation of population size for each of the different areas.Section II concentrates on the study of population size during the Yangshao period. This study is carried out by examining different cultural phases and geographic sub-regions. By employing existing data, the Yangshao period has been divided temporally into three stages and geographically according to province (Henan, Shaanxi, Shandong, and southwestern Shanxi). In each region typical sites, cities, and counties have been chosen in order to first determine per capita land use at each site, and then population distribution in each area during the different phases. The results show that for the different areas and phases, population changes were distinct. Specifically, the population in Henan and Shandong continually increased throughout the Yangshao period, while in Shaanxi and southwestern Shanxi it first increased, but decreased over the course of time.Section III concentrates on the study of population size during the Longshan period. Research into Longshan population size uses the same sub-regions discussed for the earlier Yangshao period, but by referring to current data, proceeds by dividing the Longshan period into two periods, early and late Longshan. By conducting an analysis of typical sites and typical cities and counties, this thesis makes a preliminary determination of the per capita land use during the two periods and the density of the population in each area. We can see changes throughout the different periods in both population size and features of its regional distribution.During the late Longshan period, population size in all areas increased to its largest magnitude for the entire Neolithic.Section IV concentrates on the study of population size during the Erlitou period. By analyzing data as before from the typical sites and regions, we can see that population size clearly follows a downward trend when compared with the previous Longshan period. Analysis of the population distribution shows that the existing population becomes increasingly concentrated in certain areas. In other words, in most areas population size rapidly declined, although some locations, especially around the site of Yaanshi, clearly increased in magnitude to a density not previously reached.The second chapter of part two of this thesis considers the gender and age distribution composing the prehistoric population in the middle and lower Yellow River valley. The chapter includes two sections which discuss this composition during the Peiligang, Yangshao, Longshan, and Erlitou periods. This chapter also considers how social development is connected to gender and age.Section I concentrates on the study of gender in the prehistoric population. According to the analysis of human skeletal data systematically identified from this region, this study has tentatively determined that the proportion of men was higher than that of women. This estimation is considered together with related literature on prehistoric marital patterns and the "one wife, several husbands" phenomenon exhibited during several different periods, providing a simple analysis of prehistoric gender patterns. To a certain degree, these phenomena reflect larger changes in the course of prehistoric social development.Section II concentrates on the study of age in the prehistoric population. The basis of this section is the analysis of human skeletal data identified systemically from sites in the Yellow River valley. It outlines the changing conditions in age structure of the population during different periods. These conditions reflect the changes in the course of social development as well as the trend toward increasing population size. Especially significant is the high incidence of young male deaths during the late Longshan period, prompting a discussion of how the age structure of the population is related to social development.The third part of this thesis discusses the connections between prehistoric populations and aspects of the society, environment, and resources in the middle and lower Yellow River valley. It has two chapters. The first chapter is the study of the relationship between population and social development. It includes four sections, each explaining how social organization evolved vis-a-vis social structure during the Peiligang, Yangshao, Longshan and Erlitou periods.Section I concentrates on the relationship between population and social structure during the Peiligang period. This is done by systematically arranging Peiligang archaeological data and investigating social structure in different areas from both intra-settlement and inter-settlement perspectives. After systematic analysis, a 3-level social structure within individual settlements is tentatively identified. These levels include the family, kin group, and clan. In addition, two levels of administrative controls are tentatively identified on a multi-site, inter-settlement basis. Although the population size between sites varies, there was not a "principle vs. subordinate" or hierarchical status system between these sites, but instead was basically egalitarian.Section II concentrates on the connection between population and social structure during the Yangshao period. This section discusses social structure in the different sub-regions over the course of the early, middle, and late Yangshao periods. A tentative analysis indicates that profound changes occurred in social structure during these three periods. During the early period, there were three basic levels to social organization within the settlement, the family, kin group, and clan. Despite this 3-level social organization, there was no clear difference in status between different settlements and society was essentially egalitarian. Within individual sites, large families perhaps already had a certain organizing function. The middle Yangshao period was a transition stage from an egalitarian to a stratified society. During this period, social organization became more complex, resulting in a 4-level social organization at individual sites. These levels include the nuclear family, extended family, kin group, and clan (some areas were still characterized by sub-clan organization). In addition, stratification between settlements became more striking with a 3-level settlement hierarchy. The status of the extended family became important during the middle Yangshao, and is directly related to the expanding population size. The late Yangshao period had already entered a stratified stage and stratification became more prominent during this period. Intra-settlement social organization remained in a 4 part structure while inter-settlement differentiation remained in a 3-tier hierarchy, although the inter-settlement divisions grew more salient and the first cities appeared. During the late period, the role of the extended family was also enhanced, but was probably replaced by the clan at some sites.Section III concentrates on the relationship between population and social structure during the Longshan period. In the early Longshan the extended family still played an important role in society although its importance was gradually overtaken by the primacy of the nuclear family. Between households, there were still kin group and clan organizations, with a 3-level settlement and 2-level administrativehierarchy. During the late period, the nuclear family became the main structuring element in society and began to replace the extended family, although the kin group and clan organizations remained. During the late Longshan, there was a 4-level settlement hierarchy with 3 levels of administration among the settlements. Differentiation between city and countryside emerged and in general, the degree of complexity continued to increase.Section IV concentrates on the relationship between population and social structure during the Erlitou period. Erlitou social structure differed little from the previous Longshan period, but the nuclear family had more completely occupied the position of main structuring element in society. The development of the Eriitou city resulted in an overall decrease in population as people concentrated in the areas immediately peripheral to the city. The inter-settlement hierarchy reached a 5-level configuration with a 4-level administrative system.The second chapter of the third part of this thesis focuses on the study of prehistoric population in relation to climate, environment, and natural resources in the middle and lower Yellow River valley. This chapter explains these relationships in four parts, one each for the Peiligang, Yangshao, Longshan, and Erlitou periods.Section I concentrates on the relationship between population, environment, and resources during the Peiligang period. The Peiligang period starts at the beginning of the Holocene when the climate was relatively warm and humid. These superior environmental circumstances provided good conditions for population expansion, precisely what is found by looking at statistics on population size.Section II concentrates on the connection between population, environment, and resources during the Yangshao period. The early and middle Yangshao takes place during the height of the Holocene Maximum until the late Yangshao period when temperatures drop. Changes in population size varied in different areas because landform and topographic conditions impacted how global environmental change affected these areas. Specifically, population size in Henan and Shandong increased throughout the entire Yangshao period, while in Shaanxi and southwestern Shanxi, population size peaked during the middle Yangshao and decreased afterwards.Section III concentrates on the relationship between population, environment, and resources during the Longshan period. The Longshan period took place during the Holocene Maximum when the climate was warm and humid with minor temperature fluctuations, although at the start of the Longshan period a general cooling trend emerged. The falling air temperatures were accompanied by a decrease in water levels in the rivers. Some rivers even became silted up, resulting in an increase in habitable land and fostering overland migration. Accordingly, we see thatsuch environmental changes can have a direct impact on population size.Section IV concentrates on the connection between population, environment, and resources during the Erlitou period. The Erlitou period takes place during the calamitous time of the Holocene Maximum, especially around 4000 BP when temperatures dropped and at least one major flood occurred. These events greatly affected human settlement and directly led to a contraction of population size during this period.The fourth part of this thesis is a theoretical discussion and also discusses the outlook for Chinese prehistoric population research. Changing population size directly reflects changes in the environment, natural resource availability, and the process of social development. The expansion of the population led to changes in social organization within settlements. It also led to an intensification of the administrative organization between sites and the development of a multi-level administrative system. It is precisely this kind of change that contributed to the development of early states. We can see from the changes in the developmental pattern of settlements from different periods that the emergence of mature states led to population concentration in or around large cities.Three suggestions may be made that will improve our understanding of Chinese prehistoric population research. The first is to enhance data on population archaeology by the further collection of appropriate data. The second is to further improve theory, method, and technology related to population studies. The final suggestion is to actively develop cooperation between various disciplines.