Qiu Menghan, Liu Ruiliang, Li Xingyuan, Du Linyao, Ruan Qiurong, Pollard A Mark, Zhang Shanjia, Yuan Xiao, Liu Fengwen, Li Gang, Li Gaojun, Jiao Zhimin, Luo Jiaming, Chen Shengqian, Yang Xiaoyan, Wang Yongqiang, Han Jianye, Chen Fahu, Dong Guanghui
Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems (Ministry of Education), College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
The Department of Asia, British Museum, London, UK.
Sci Adv. 2023 Jul 28;9(30):eadh0549. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adh0549. Epub 2023 Jul 26.
Coal has long fueled human civilizations. The history of systematic coal fuel exploitation has been traced back to the late third millennium before present (post-2500 B.P.). Although sporadic combustion of coal for fuel was reported in some prehistoric archaeological sites, evidence for the systematic exploitation of coal for fuel before 2500 B.P. remains lacking. Here, we report comprehensive understanding for the earliest systematic exploitation of coal for fuel at the Jirentaigoukou site in Xinjiang, northwestern China, at ~3600 B.P. The main body of the site witnessed systematic exploitation of bituminous coals, illustrating a complete chaîne opératoire with selective mining, planned storage, and extensive combustion. Our results transform the knowledge of energy history by extending the upper limit of the systematic exploitation of coal for fuel by approximately a millennium, and provide a precedent of energy transition under intense conflict between social demand and environmental deterioration.
煤炭长期以来一直为人类文明提供燃料。有系统地开采煤炭用作燃料的历史可追溯到距今约三千纪晚期（公元前2500年之后）。尽管在一些史前考古遗址中曾有关于偶尔燃烧煤炭作为燃料的报道，但在公元前2500年之前有系统地开采煤炭用作燃料的证据仍然缺乏。在此，我们报告了对中国西北部新疆吉仁台沟口遗址在距今约3600年时最早有系统地开采煤炭用作燃料的全面认识。该遗址主体见证了对烟煤的系统开采，展示了一个包括选择性开采、规划储存和大规模燃烧的完整操作链。我们的研究结果将有系统地开采煤炭用作燃料的上限延长了约一千年，从而改变了能源历史知识，并提供了一个在社会需求与环境恶化激烈冲突下能源转型的先例。
