Archaeobotanical Study On The Region Of East Tianshan Mountains In First Millennium BC

The region of East Tianshan Mountains,located in eastern Xinjiang,has diversified natural environment with basins,rivers and lakes and vertical differences in vegetation,which is suitable for a variety of subsistence.The first millennium BC is a period with fluctuant climate and rapid cultural interactions.Abundant evidences on utilization of plant sources have been recovered at the sites around East Tianshan Mountains.However,the study about subsistence pattern,relationship between agriculture and pastoral,and utilization of plant sources,in East Tianshan Mountains during the first millennium BC,are still rare.This dissertation starts from the archaeobotanical analysis of floatation samples taken from Shirenzigou in Barkol,and combines it with author's recent investigations and researches,to explore the issues above from archaeobotanical perspective.Crop remains found in East Tianshan Mountains are naked barley,wheat,foxtail millet and broomcorn millet.Besides,other plants can be classified into two groups-weeds and pastures.Among them,the plant assemblage of Shirenzigou site is dominated by naked barley.The compositions of plant remains from different complexs have distinctive features and the distributions of each plant are various.Under this condition,the dissertation connects them with several functions like storage,processing,abandoning.Moreover,other sites on the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains,also unearthed naked barley with high ubiquity.Apart from naked barley,large amount of broomcorn millet and sporadic foxtail millet and wheat are discovered in the south of the Tianshan Mountains.On the dataset above,the research refers to historical documents and ethnological materials about agriculture and pastoral in East Tianshan Mountains,Xinjiang and Central Asia,and conducts ethnology investigation and experimental archaeology.Combined with such multiple evidences,the dissertation analyzes the resource and acquisition of plant source.The result indicates that barley has relatively short growing season,drought tolerance and frost resistance,which are able to suit to the local environment and fit for local pastoral scheduling.Consequently,naked barley became one of the most popular crops in this region,especially on the north slope of Tianshan,from the first millennium BC to modern period.Moreover,the ratio of barley and weeds reflects the processing stages of naked barley,and possibly the carbonized pasture seeds come from the dung fuel burning.In southern Tianshan Mountains,the agricultural system of multi-crops is popular.That might aims at reducing risks and maximizing the utilization of oasis sources.Overall,continual agro-pastoralism is the most obvious feature of East Tianshan Mountains in the first millennium BC.Under the varied environment and social institutions,the proportion of agriculture and pastoralism,and the choice of cereal crops in this region have spatial and temporal variations.With the fluctuated climate and development of nomadic pastoral,crop cultivation became less important in northern slope of East Tianshan,while the southern part intensified the sedentary agriculture.Besides,the subsistence in this region has similarities and differences with adjacent areas,and successive relationships probably.This issue needs to be paid more attention in the future.