Multiple Factors Affecting the Historical Development of Agriculture in the Hei River Basin, Northwestern China

The history of agricultural development is of great importance to understanding the evolution of human societies. In this respect, one important location is the Hei River Basin (HRB), an ecotone in northwestern China where prehistoric patterns of cultivation are known to have changed significantly. To identify the factors behind the subsequent development of agriculture in the HRB in the historical period, a hitherto under-researched topic, we employed paleoclimate records, historical documents, radiocarbon dating, and archaeobotanical analyses from seven ancient cities and one large settlement. The results demonstrated a shift from mixed-crop farming to the cultivation of (mainly) barley and wheat during the Wei, Jin Northern and Southern dynasties, Song-Yuan and early Ming period, with the latter crop increasingly predominant. Technological innovations and increased labour power brought about by external population migration resulting from geopolitical changes in northern China were likely responsible for the shift in crop cultivation in the HRB, rather than climate change. This study provides important archaeobotanical evidence for the agricultural development of the HRB over the historical period and highlights multiple factors that seem to have influenced the evolution of agriculture in the region.