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The natural environment of the Gansu-Qinghai region in northwest China exhibits spatial variation, resulting in distinct adaptive strategies among populations in different geographical areas. In this study, we analyzed the diachronic trend and regional variations in caries prevalence among 10 different middle and late-Holocene groups by examining dental caries data to explore the correlation between different adaptation strategies and caries frequency. Frequency data was used to compare dental caries between populations, and the Chi-square test was employed to detect statistical differences. A multidisciplinary approach was employed to investigate the relationship between these changes and the adaptive strategies adopted by the populations in this region. The result shows that there was a gradual increase in caries prevalence over time in eastern Gansu, which corresponded with development of millet farming and social hierarchy. In the Hexi Corridor, caries prevalence exhibited fluctuations attributable to climate variability, human migration, and regime change. The research proposes that changes in adaptive strategies due to various social and environmental factors are reflected in human teeth, while also presenting a novel endeavor of aggregating a large, multisite bioarchaeological dataset in order to investigate the interactions between Holocene populations and palaeoenvironments in northwest China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dispersal and development of pastoralism during the Bronze Age profoundly influenced human livelihoods and adaptability to diverse environments in northwestern China. Although diachronic changes in the composition of animal resources have been discussed, the specific utilization form of these resources remains unclear due to the lack of age-class and sex ratio data for inferring population structure. Here, we report new zooarchaeological data from the Haizang site dated between 4000 and 3500 cal. yr BP in an oasis in northwestern China’s Hexi Corridor. The 7092 identified animal remains are dominated by sheep/goat (53.44%) and cattle (15.61%), supplemented by pig (11.96%) and wildlife (11.11%), representing the largest animal remains assemblage in this area thus far. The mortality age profiles of sheep/goat and cattle remains show that domesticated ruminants were utilized for multiple purposes, implying the introduction of livestock utilization knowledge alongside these species. During this stage, the reliance of local subsistence on ruminant pastoralism was geographically varied in and around the Hexi Corridor, although these areas shared similar Qijia cultural phenomena. We argue that ancient inhabitants of Haizang took a more ruminant-focused and multipurpose animal utilization strategy, which alleviated the survival pressure caused by colder and drier climate in the global context of ‘4.2 ka BP event’ and underpinned local social development. The acceleration of trans-regional exchange across Eurasia during the early Bronze Age provided the paramount material and knowledge for this transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers in the world, and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) accounts for 90% of all cases. Human positive coactivator 4 (PC4) is a transcriptional coactivator that has been associated with the development and progression of several tumors. However, no studies investigated the potential role of PC4 in PDAC. Methods: We investigated PC4 expression in 81 PDAC tissue samples using immunohistochemistry and studied the impact of PC4 expression and the molecular mechanisms of this altered expression on PDAC tumorigenesis and proliferation both in vitro and in vivo. Results: PC4 overexpression was correlated with a poor outcome in PDAC patients. The RNAi-mediated knockdown of PC4 expression in CFPAC-1 and AsPC-1 cell lines reduced cell proliferation and tumor growth. The loss of PC4 in PDAC inhibits cell growth by inducing cell cycle arrest at the G1/S transition and suppressing the mTOR/p70s6k pathway. Discussion/Conclusion: Our findings reveal for the first time that PC4 exerts oncogenic functions by activating mTOR/p70s6k signaling pathway-mediated cell proliferation, implying that PC4 is a promising therapeutic target for PDAC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reconstruction of high-resolution chronologies for prehistoric cultures is a prerequisite for understanding the history of human evolution and its relationship with environmental change, and is valuable for exploring the trajectory of transcontinental cultural exchanges in prehistoric time. The Hexi Corridor of northwest China was one of the earliest centers for long-distance culture exchange in the prehistoric world. The timing and sequence of cultural changes in this area remains poorly understood resulting from the lack of radiometric age control. This paper presents a refined radiocarbon (14C) chronology to resolve the timing of human occupation and cultural evolution in the Hexi Corridor. Radiocarbon dating of crop remains, which have an annual life cycle, has the advantage of eliminating problems such as the carbon stored in 'old wood'. As a result, 14C dates from crop remains are used to test the validity of the 14C dates derived from charcoal, bone and plant remains. The resultant database of ages is modelled using the Bayesian approach. The updated chronology presented in this paper shows generally good agreement with the original dates used to constrain cultural evolution in the Hexi Corridor. However, the occupation of the corridor by the Shajing and Shanma Late Bronze Age-Early Iron Age cultures appears to have taken place ~300 years later than previously thought. On the basis of comparing this updated chronology of cultural evolution with palaeoclimatic and historical records, it is proposed that the collapse of the Shajing and Shanma cultures occurred as a result of geopolitical impact rather than climate change. [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]

We report dozens of direct radiocarbon dates on charred grains from 22 archaeological sites of the Neolithic and Bronze Ages in the Hexi Corridor, northwest China, a key region for trans-Eurasian exchange in prehistoric and historical times. These charred grains include remains of wheat and barley domesticated in southwest Asia and broomcorn and foxtail millet which originated from north China. Together with previously published radiocarbon dates, we consider these newly obtained radiocarbon results in the context of material cultures associated with them, to explore an episode of trans-continental cultural exchange foci at the Hexi Corridor. Our results show that millet cultivators who used painted potteries from the western Loess Plateau first settled the Hexi Corridor around 4800 BP. Communities who cultivated wheat and barley moved into this region from the west around 4000 BP, bringing with them technologies and materials not seen in central China before, including bronze metallurgy, mud bricks, and mace heads. This was part of the east–west contact which became evident in the Hexi Corridor since the late fifth millennium BP, and continued over the subsequent two millennia, and predated the formation of the overland Silk Road in the Han Dynasty (202 BC–AD 220). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automated analog circuit design is promising for increasing the design productivity and narrowing the time-to-market, but is facing the bottleneck of tremendous design complexity. In this paper, a simulation-based optimization approach named smart-multiple starting point (MSP) is proposed for analog circuit synthesis. The proposed smart-MSP is based on the framework of MSP optimization, which is shown to be much more efficient than other global optimization methods like simulated annealing, genetic algorithm, particle swarm optimization, etc. Efficient techniques including heuristic-biased starting point selection, sparse regression and probabilistic TABU are developed in smart-MSP and make the algorithm quite smart in a way that the overall optimization process is self-adaptive by learning from the previous local searches and can efficiently produce optimal results to approximate the global optimum. Experiments have demonstrated that the proposed smart-MSP is 2.6-12.5\times faster than the original MSP method, and is 1.3-2100\times faster than other state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The emergence and diffusion of metallurgical technology had tremendous environmental consequence, however, the spatial-temporal consequences of the metallurgy during Bronze Age are not clear in China. In this paper, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) measurement and principal component analysis (PCA) were conducted on heavy metal element (Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn, Cr and As) concentrations (HMEC) of natural and anthropogenic sediment samples systematically collected from 22 late Neolithic-Bronze Age sites in Hexi corridor to explore the potential for subcontinental-wide changes in soil geochemistry. We place this data within the context of the Cu concentrations in lacustrine sediments located near smelting and mining centers in Bronze Age China. Our results show that variation of HMEC in anthropogenic sediment in Hexi corridor is contemporaneous with the increases of the Cu concentrations in lacustrine sediment around 4000 BP. Comparative data suggests the metallurgical production diffused from the Hexi corridor to central and southwestern China around 3600 BP. We argue that sediment pollution is not an isolated phenomenon during the Bronze Age China, but rather occurred on regional scales and is closely related to the intensity of smelting activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The history of cultural exchange in prehistoric Eurasia (CEPE) has been widely investigated. Based on archaeological evidence, this process is thought to date back to at least the early Bronze Age, although details about timings and routes remain unclear. It is likely that CEPE promoted the spread and exchange of crops that originated in different parts of Eurasia; since these remains can be definitely identified and directly dated, they provide ideal research materials to explore the history of CEPE. In this paper, we review the available archaeobotanical evidence and direct radiocarbon dates for crop remains, alongside carbon isotopic data from human bones unearthed from prehistoric sites in Eurasia, in order to investigate the history of the spread of millet crops, and wheat and barley, that were first domesticated in the eastern and western parts of Eurasia during prehistoric times. In combination with other archaeological evidences, we discuss the history of CEPE. Our results suggest that wheat and barley were domesticated in western Asia around 10500 a BP, spread into Europe and western Central Asia before 8000 a BP, and reaching eastern Central Asia and northwestern China between 4500 and 4000 a BP. Data show that both broomcorn and foxtail millet were domesticated in eastern Asia before 7700 a BP, spread into eastern Central Asia between 4500 and 4000 a BP, and into western Asia and Europe prior to 3500 a BP. Wheat, barley, and millet crops were first utilized together in eastern Kazakhstan within Central Asia around 4400 a BP, the region where earliest CEPE is likely to have taken place. These crops were mixedly used mainly in eastern central Asia and northwest China between 4500 and 3500 a BP, and then across the Eurasia before 2200 a BP. The results of this study suggest that transcontinental CEPE might have been initiated during the fifth millennium, before intensifying during the Bronze Age to lay the foundations for the creation of the ancient Silk Road during the Han Dynasty (between 202BC and 220AD). [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]

Cattle, sheep, and goats were first domesticated in West Asia, but the history of utilization of these livestock in China is controversial. The Hexi Corridor, located in the northwestern Gansu-Qinghai (GQ) region of northwest China, was a conduit of cultural exchange between East and West Eurasia. Based on the identification and radiocarbon dating of animal remains unearthed from two Xichengyi culture sites in the Hexi Corridor (Huoshiliang (火石梁) and Ganggangwa (缸缸洼), ranging from 4060 cal BP to 3650 cal BP), combined with other archaeological data published from the GQ region, this study aims to reveal the history of pastoralism and the timing for the emergence of the earliest domesticated cattle and caprines in the GQ region. Our results suggest that directly dated domestic sheep/goat bones (4060-3840 cal BP) and cattle bones (3970-3830 cal BP) unearthed from these two sites are the earliest yet reported for sites within GQ region, but are significantly later than those reported elsewhere in the temperate-grassland areas of northern China. Furthermore, the unearthed animal remains suggest that early pastoralism in the GQ region occurred at the beginning of the Qijia/Xichengyi culture period (∼4000 cal BP), significantly later than other previously reported evidence for the substantial increase of sedimental coprophilous fungal spores in this region since∼5600 cal BP. We argue that previously reported evidence for increased coprophilous fungal spores in the GQ region before 4000 cal BP may come from raising domestic pigs and/or wild animals rather than domestic cattle and sheep/goats, and should not be taken as evidence for the intensification of pastoralism of cattle and sheep/goats. • The earliest domesticated cattle and caprines in GQ region were raised about 4000 cal BP. • The early pastoralism in the GQ region expanded during the period of the Qijia/Xichengyi culture (∼4000 cal BP). • The increase of coprophilous fungal spores before 4000 cal BP in GQ region may not come from domestic cattle and sheep/goats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Situated in the middle Hexi corridor, a vital passage of the ancient Silk Road, the Heishuiguo site was a military town on the northwestern frontier of the Han Dynasty (202 BCE–220 CE). To understand the lifestyle of the Heishuiguo population, levels of dental caries and tooth wear were assessed. Archaeological findings and historical records revealed a mixed subsistence strategy dependent upon agricultural production and domesticated animals at Heishuiguo. This was also supported by evidence from stable isotope analysis. Teeth are an excellent material for the reconstruction of ancient diet, subsistence strategies, and social behavior. The rate of dental caries in the Heishuiguo population fell into the range of mixed economic population. Tooth wear analysis, however, shows a conflicting result. Anterior tooth wear is particularly severe at Heishuiguo, indicating subsistence practices similar to hunter‐gatherers and modern Xinjiang Kazakhs. As a major Han garrison, the majority of the Heishuiguo populace were either immigrants or the descendants of immigrants. Their diet, with rich nutritional value, portability, and adapted to long‐term preservation needs, suited environmental requirements at Heishuiguo. However, these foods generally required heavier use of cutting and tearing motions with the anterior teeth. Frequent occlusion (alignment) as a result of such actions resulted in severe tooth wear. Such tooth wear may be attributed to a preference for tough, dry foods, such as nang cake along the Heishuiguo population, as well abundant meat consumption. Such a dietary culture resulted from the hot and dry climate, complex geographical conditions, and abundant resources at Heishuiguo. The result was that a unique lifestyle and dietary culture gradually formed at Heishuiguo due to this creative adaptation to the local environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The cover image is based on the Research Article Mixed economy and dried foods: Dental indicators reveal Heishuiguo Han Dynasty population's environmental adaptation to the semi‐arid region of northwestern China by Jianxue Xiong et al., https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.3146. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All around the world, ancient legends exist about the Great Flood, and the influence of the Great Flood in human evolutionary history is a hotly debated topic. In China, the legend of the prehistoric Great Flood and Yu the Great’s flood control has a long history and is considered to be closely linked to the establishment of the Xia Dynasty. However, there is a lack of solid scientific evidence. Against this issue, some scholars have proposed that an earthquake around 1920 BCE in the Guanting Basin along the upper reaches of the Yellow River led to the creation of a lake by damming in the Jishi Gorge and that the outburst of water from that lake led to the massive flood in the Yellow River region. These studies provided new scientific evidence for the Chinese legend. In this paper, we date skeletal samples embedded in earthquake sand blasting from the Lajia site, analyze remains from natural disasters (such as earthquakes and floods) and also archaeological remains. In addition, we compared the skeletal samples dating with that of sediments from the dammed-up lake. Our results are inconsistent with those of previous scholars. The earthquake at the Lajia site occurred no earlier than 1800 BCE, and the dammed-up lake in Jishi Gorge had disappeared by 3600 BCE. Thus, the formation and outburst of the dammed lake, the sudden death of ancient humans at the Lajia site and the ancient earthquake were independent events occurring at different times. In addition, the massive flood in the upper reaches of the Yellow River did not actually happen. Thus, we argue against and invalidate the hypothesis that the massive flood was related to Yu the Great’s flood control and the establishment of the Xia Dynasty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Charcoal analysis is a useful tool to gather information about the diversity of vegetation as well as human behaviour towards the environment and the diversified management of natural plant resources. Here we present the taxonomic identification of charcoal and calculate the percentage of each diameter class of the pieces excavated from the Shannashuzha archaeological site, Gansu Province. We discuss the implications of the data for the composition of the past woodland vegetation and prehistoric human fuel collection strategy. Twenty-two taxa were identified from 2,241 charcoal fragments with a further 50 fragments unidentified. Picea, Pinus, Bambusoideae, Salix, Populus, Quercus and Betula were abundant in many samples, although Bambusoideae is probably over-represented due to its high chance of being preserved. The vegetation around the Shannashuzha site had a typical mountain character and the main vegetation types reflected by the charcoal records included conifer woods, mixed broadleaved/conifer woods and riverbank broadleaved woods. This vegetation is similar to the modern vegetation and therefore the climate at that time is deemed to have been similar to or slightly warmer than today. Abundance was probably an important factor in the fuel collection strategy of the people. Collection of wood with a small diameter was a purposeful choice by prehistoric people, probably because it was less time-consuming in the study area, which was rich in wood resources. We conclude that in this region, prehistoric people selected firewood depending not on its type, but rather on its size (diameter). Charcoal from fruit trees found at this site and at many others nearby indicates that there was a common and long history of fruit utilization by prehistoric people in the western Loess Plateau. These results provide valuable information and a new insight into the interaction between human activities and plant resources in the Neolithic period. [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]