Research On The Primitive Agricultural Development In The Middle And Late Neolithic Period In The Guanzhong Region

The origin and formation of ancient civilization is based on material culture and spiritual culture.The development of primitive agriculture is the root of the formation of material culture,and at the same time promotes the development of spiritual culture,which in turn promotes the continuous progress of society.The Guanzhong area,located in the middle of the Loess Plateau,was the core area of the Yellow River Basin during the Yangshao culture period and one of the important birthplaces of China’s ancient civilization,and the Yangshao culture and the Guanzhong region occupy an extremely important position in the development process of China’s ancient civilization.This thesis clarifies the food structure and the development of primitive agriculture through the collection,collation and analysis of plant remains,animal remains and production tools from the Laoguantai to Yangshao culture periods in the Guanzhong region,and also conducts a comprehensive analysis by combining environmental archaeology,settlement archaeology and other materials,focusing on their intrinsic dynamic relationships,examining the evolutionary process of primitive agriculture,and exploring its motives and influences.Cereal cultivation already began in the Guanzhong area during the Laoguantai period,and primitive agriculture was in its initial stage;the level of cultivation improved in the early Yangshao period,with foxtail millet being the main crop,and society was still in the transitional stage of changing from gathering and hunting to farming production;a dry agriculture economy dominated by foxtail millet was formed in the middle Yangshao period,and the use of rice was more common but not the dominant crop;soybeans were also found at this time,and the stage of social development was dominated by In the late Yangshao period,the dry agriculture economy is still dominated by foxtail millet,and the multi-crop cultivation system has been further developed.The overall domestic animal feeding from Laoguantai to the early Yangshao culture was in a preliminary stage of development,and the meat provided by domesticated animals was able to occupy a certain proportion in the vast majority of sites,while also relying on wild animals;in the middle to late Yangshao period,the level and scale of feeding improved significantly,and domestic animals became the most important meat resource,and the use of freshwater mollusks was prominent in some sites.The number of agricultural production tools accounted for a relatively low percentage in the Laoguantai period;the number of production tools increased in the Yangshao period,but the types,combinations,and percentages of tools were more stable and did not change significantly,always guaranteeing the implementation of various production activities.Comparing the development of factors related to the three,the overall trend shows an upward development over time with some differences,and the decline of the late Yangshao culture is more evident in livestock rearing and agricultural production tools.The thesis shows that the primitive agriculture in the Guanzhong area during the Middle and Late Neolithic period had become a self-contained system,and that the development of primitive agriculture interacted with climatic and environmental changes,human adaptation and social factors,and that the development of primitive agriculture laid the foundation for the accumulation of material culture and social progress at that time.The primitive agriculture nurtured by the superior and unique geographical environment of Guanzhong area developed rapidly since its emergence,and established its main position in the production economy in the middle of the Yangshao period,creating an advanced agricultural civilization ahead of the surrounding areas.The study of primitive agriculture in the Middle and Late Neolithic period in Guanzhong area will further enrich the connotation of agricultural history in the prehistoric period of the Yellow River basin and promote the research process of the history of Chinese agricultural civilization,which has an irreplaceable research value.