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The Hexi Corridor was an important arena for culture exchange and human migration between ancient China and Central and Western Asia. During the Han Dynasty (202 BCE–220 CE), subsistence strategy along the corridor shifted from pastoralism to a mixed pastoralist-agriculturalist economy. Yet the drivers of this transition remain poorly understood. In this study, we analyze the Y-chromosome and mtDNA of 31 Han Dynasty individuals from the Heishuiguo site, located in the center of the Hexi Corridor. A high-resolution analysis of 485 Y-SNPs and mitogenomes was performed, with the Heishuiguo population classified into Early Han and Late Han groups. It is revealed that (1) when dissecting genetic lineages, the Yellow River Basin origin haplogroups (i.e., Oα-M117, Oβ-F46, Oγ-IMS-JST002611, and O2-P164+, M134-) reached relatively high frequencies for the paternal gene pools, while haplogroups of north East Asian origin (e.g., D4 and D5) dominated on the maternal side; (2) in interpopulation comparison using PCA and Fst heatmap, the Heishuiguo population shifted from Southern-Northern Han cline to Northern-Northwestern Han/Hui cline with time, indicating genetic admixture between Yellow River immigrants and natives. By comparison, in maternal mtDNA views, the Heishuiguo population was closely clustered with certain Mongolic-speaking and Northwestern Han populations and exhibited genetic continuity through the Han Dynasty, which suggests that Heishuiguo females originated from local or neighboring regions. Therefore, a sex-biased admixture pattern is observed in the Heishuiguo population. Additionally, genetic contour maps also reveal the same male-dominated migration from the East to Hexi Corridor during the Han Dynasty. This is also consistent with historical records, especially excavated bamboo slips. Combining historical records, archeological findings, stable isotope analysis, and paleoenvironmental studies, our uniparental genetic investigation on the Heishuiguo population reveals how male-dominated migration accompanied with lifestyle adjustments brought by these eastern groups may be the main factor affecting the subsistence strategy transition along the Han Dynasty Hexi Corridor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development and subsistence strategies adopted in ancient settlements are crucial to the understanding of long-term human–environmental interaction in the past. Here, we reassess the chronology of the ancient walled settlement of Sanjiao in the Hexi Corridor in northwestern China through accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon (AMS 14C) dating and explore the subsistence of the settlers inside through the identification of carbonized seeds and charcoal. In addition, high-resolution paleoclimate records in the Hexi Corridor and nearby regions are employed to explore the reason for the construction of Sanjiao. Our results show that Sanjiao was built around 828 cal BC and remained inhabited through 384–116 cal BC. This indicates Sanjiao is the earliest known walled settlement in the Hexi Corridor. Ancient people at Sanjiao consumed crops such as barley, broomcorn millet, and foxtail millet, and used wood from Tamarix chinensis , Tamarix , Salix , Picea , Hippophae , Betulacea e, and Poaceae as fuel. The construction date of Sanjiao correlates with climate deterioration and social upheavals in the Hexi Corridor, potentially suggesting a defensive purpose for the site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, archaeologists have studied how ancient humans have shaped, and been shaped by, their surrounding environments in an effort to provide valuable insight into the patterns of human-environment interaction during prehistoric and historical periods. Along the Heihe River in Hexi Corridor of northwest China, archaeologists have found many ancient cities that are good places to explore changes in human settlement patterns in relation to environment change in historical periods. In this paper, we present our investigation of seven ancient cities to clarify the chronology of these cities and their strategy for wood use in the area through the application of radiocarbon dating and charcoal identification. Our results suggest that the ages of many cities are younger than previous estimates, and humans mainly used Tamarix and mixed Tamarix and broad leaf trees in the lower and middle reaches of the Heihe River basin between ∼ AD 240–1380 respectively, and roughly matches the modern spatial distribution of natural woody vegetation in the area. In comparison to the results of archaeological, paleoclimatic and historical studies in Hexi Corridor, we propose that ancient human strategies for wood use and their impact on environment of the Heihe Basin are primarily relevant to human lifestyles rather than climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gansu and Qinghai provinces of northwest China form an important region for the domestication and early utilization of millet crops. Studies on the subsistence strategy variation and environmental background of prehistoric cultural transition in this area have made substantial progress, but the geomorphic environment and hydrologic conditions of the different culture stages remains poorly known. Based on high resolution DEM and GPS coordination of typical sites, a GIS aided hydrogeomorphic analysis was conducted to indicate the abundance of cultivable flat lands and proximity to local surface runoff within walking access of nine typical sites. The results were compared with the records of plant-animal remains and tool assemblages from published literature. There is a good correlation between sites' hydrogeomorphic settings and the subsistence strategy adopted. Our case study provides valuable information for understanding how humans selected their habitat locations in corresponding to subsistence strategy shift during the transitional period between late Paleolithic and Neolithic periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The eastern ancient Silk Road (EASR)—an area critical in linking Central China with the pastoralist societies of the eastern Eurasian Steppe and Central Asia—was a key component to trans-Eurasian exchange since the Bronze Age. Despite the area's importance, not much is known regarding the spatio-temporal variation of human diets and the associated subsistence practices during the Bronze Age. This dearth of information is largely due to the absence of key evidence from the EASR during 3000–2200 years before present (yr B.P.). In this study, we report new carbon and nitrogen isotopic data, including radiocarbon dates of human and animal bones unearthed from the Shijia-Yucun (SJ-YC) site in the EASR, dated between ∼2700 and 2500 yr B.P. During our target period of study, the humans, pigs and dogs living in SJ-YC mainly consumed C 4 foods (millets and millet by-products), while herbivorous livestock consumed a mix of C 3 and C 4 plants. Combined with published isotopic and archaeobotanical data, we detected an asynchronous transformation of dietary patterns in different regions of the EASR during the Bronze Age. Between 3500 and 2200 yr B.P., staple foods for most western EASR humans shifted from C 4 to mixed C 3 and C 4 foods. In the eastern EASR, C 4 foods remained dominant in human diets throughout the Bronze Age. Patterns in dietary changes are not completely consistent with the various trajectory of crop cultivation. We propose that, in the context of Bronze Age trans-Eurasian exchanges, humans adopted different livelihoods throughout the EASR to deal with the survival pressures and social customs associated with variations in climate, population, and geopolitical factors. Our work provides vital evidence for dietary and subsistence variation in the EASR and explores the complicated relationship between Bronze Age humans and their environment. • Humans were reliant on the millet-based farming in east of the Liupan Mountain in 2700–2500 yr B.P. • Dietary and crop cultivating shifts differed along the Bronze Age Eastern Silk Road • Humans adopted various strategies in the Bronze Age Eastern Silk Road to deal with survival pressures and social customs [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]