Wang Yanren, Yang Qi, Yang Jishuai, Sharma Shalini, Huang Yunzhe, He Wei, Tsring Tinley, Hu Shihua, Chen Songtao, Sun Qingli, You Ting, Gu Zhengquan, Tsho Yang, Wangdue Shargan, Chen Zujun, Gao Yu, Yang Xiaoyan, Chen Fahu
Group of Alpine Paleoecology and Human Adaptation (ALPHA), State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Resources and Environment (TPESRE), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; National Centre for Archaeology, Beijing 100013, China.
Group of Alpine Paleoecology and Human Adaptation (ALPHA), State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Resources and Environment (TPESRE), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100086, China.
Sci Bull (Beijing). 2024 Dec 30;69(24):3959-3967. doi: 10.1016/j.scib.2024.06.025. Epub 2024 Jun 24.
The origin and spread of agriculture facilitated a decline in human mobility and eventually led to a predominantly sedentary lifestyle globally, including on the Tibetan Plateau. Previous studies have proposed an evolution of prehistoric agriculture, from millet-based to barley-based farming. However, details regarding the process are vague. Here, we present diachronic changes in cropping structure from Xizang on the basis of a quantitative analysis of archaeobotanical remains from 12 sites located in southeastern Xizang. The advent of agriculture in Xizang began in the southeastern region around 4800 cal a BP and resulted in a quick spread of millet agriculture from the Hengduan Mountains to the Yarlung Zangbo River region. Subsequently, the introduction of barley and wheat to Xizang led to the transformation of millet-based farming into mixed farming after 3600 cal a BP. Eventually, around 3000 cal a BP, barley and wheat dominated across the entire Xizang with declining occurrences of millet. It took more than 600 years for barley and wheat to dominate in the Tibetan cropping system, which may reflect the time required for these exotic species to adapt physiologically to their new niche. In addition to the diachronic changes in crop farming, the ratio of barley to wheat and foxtail millet to broomcorn millet also varied at different elevations possibly due to local environmental variations and the crops' physiological requirements.
农业的起源与传播促使人类流动性下降，并最终在全球范围内，包括青藏高原，导致了以定居为主的生活方式。先前的研究提出了史前农业从以粟为主到以大麦为主的演变。然而，关于这一过程的细节尚不清楚。在此，我们基于对西藏东南部12个遗址出土的考古植物遗存的定量分析，呈现了西藏种植结构的历时性变化。西藏农业的出现始于公元前4800年左右的东南部地区，导致粟作农业从横断山脉迅速传播到雅鲁藏布江地区。随后，大麦和小麦传入西藏，导致公元前3600年后以粟为主的种植方式转变为混合种植。最终，在公元前3000年左右，大麦和小麦在整个西藏占据主导地位，粟的出现频率下降。大麦和小麦在西藏种植系统中占据主导地位花费了600多年时间，这可能反映了这些外来物种在生理上适应新生态位所需的时间。除了作物种植的历时性变化外，大麦与小麦以及粟与黍的比例在不同海拔地区也可能因当地环境差异和作物生理需求而有所不同。
