IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v11y2022i9p1416-d899948.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

On the Exploration of Social Development during a Historical Period in the Eastern Tienshan Mountains via Archaeological and Geopolitical Perspectives

Author

Listed:
  • Huihui Cao

    (Key Laboratory of Western China’s Environmental System, Ministry of Education, College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China)

  • Yongqiang Wang

    (Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology in Xinjiang, Urumqi 830011, China)

  • Menghan Qiu

    (Key Laboratory of Western China’s Environmental System, Ministry of Education, College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China)

  • Zhilin Shi

    (Institute of Dunhuang Studies, School of History and Culture, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China)

  • Guanghui Dong

    (Key Laboratory of Western China’s Environmental System, Ministry of Education, College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China)

Abstract

Natural and social environment changes have played important roles in social evolution in different times and spaces. Geopolitical change, in particular, might play a decisive role in social evolution during historical periods. The eastern Tienshan Mountains was a transportation hub for communication between the East and the West, where the natural environment is fragile and the social environment has been complex during the historical period. However, geopolitical change and its impact on local social development remain unclear due to fragmented historical records and limited studies. This study investigates the spatiotemporal variations of military facilities in the Hami region, and compares historical documents and archaeological and paleoclimate records to discuss geopolitical changes and social evolution during the historical period in the eastern Tienshan Mountains. A total of 84 visible organic remains from 38 historic beacon towers and 8 dak sites in the Hami region of the eastern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwestern China, were collected and the radiocarbon ( 14 C) dates of these ruins were systematically determined with accelerator mass spectrometry. The dating results show that these sites were mainly built during two major periods: ca. 600–900 cal AD and ca. 1600–1950 cal AD, which roughly correspond to the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD) and the Qing Dynasty (1636–1912 AD) in ancient China. Human settlement intensity was high during the Han, Tang, and Qing dynasties, and relatively low when the area was controlled by nomadic or local regimes. This suggests that agricultural empires and nomadic/local regimes adopted different strategies for regional management. Climate change might have affected geopolitical patterns, which, in turn, profoundly influenced human activities and social evolution in the eastern Tienshan Mountains over the last two millennia. This study systematically reveals the spatiotemporal variations of beacon towers and dak ruins in the region through a large number of reliable direct 14 C dating, it reveals the remarkable differences in human activities in the eastern Tienshan Mountains under different administrations, and it explores the influence of geopolitics and climate change on social evolution in the eastern Tienshan Mountains from a multidisciplinary perspective.

Suggested Citation

  • Huihui Cao & Yongqiang Wang & Menghan Qiu & Zhilin Shi & Guanghui Dong, 2022. "On the Exploration of Social Development during a Historical Period in the Eastern Tienshan Mountains via Archaeological and Geopolitical Perspectives," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-19, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:9:p:1416-:d:899948
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/9/1416/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/9/1416/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Li Wu & Shuguang Lu & Cheng Zhu & Chunmei Ma & Xiaoling Sun & Xiaoxue Li & Chenchen Li & Qingchun Guo, 2021. "Holocene Environmental Archaeology of the Yangtze River Valley in China: A Review," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-25, March.
    2. Axel Timmermann & Tobias Friedrich, 2016. "Late Pleistocene climate drivers of early human migration," Nature, Nature, vol. 538(7623), pages 92-95, October.
    3. Louis Putterman, 2006. "Agriculture, Diffusion,and Development: Ripple Effects of the Neolithic Revolutions," Working Papers 2006-19, Brown University, Department of Economics.
    4. Louis Putterman, 2008. "Agriculture, Diffusion and Development: Ripple Effects of the Neolithic Revolution," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 75(300), pages 729-748, November.
    5. Stefani A. Crabtree, 2016. "Simulating Littoral Trade: Modeling the Trade of Wine in the Bronze to Iron Age Transition in Southern France," Land, MDPI, vol. 5(1), pages 1-20, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tendai Zawaira & Matthew W. Clance & Carolyn Chisadza, 2020. "Social Institutions and Gender-Biased Outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers 2020101, University of Pretoria, Department of Economics.
    2. Litina, Anastasia, 2012. "Unfavorable land endowment, cooperation, and reversal of fortune," MPRA Paper 39702, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Cemal Eren Arbath & Quamral H. Ashraf & Oded Galor & Marc Klemp, 2018. "Diversity and Conflict," Working Papers 2018-6, Brown University, Department of Economics.
    4. Anastasia Litina, 2016. "Natural land productivity, cooperation and comparative development," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 351-408, December.
    5. Simplice A. Asongu & Oasis Kodila-Tedika, 2020. "Intelligence and Slave Exports from Africa," Journal of Interdisciplinary Economics, , vol. 32(2), pages 145-159, July.
    6. Serge Svizzero & Clem Tisdell, 2014. "Theories About the Commencement of Agriculture in Prehistoric Societies: A Critical Evaluation," Rivista di storia economica, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 3, pages 255-280.
    7. Ang, James B. & Gupta, Satyendra Kumar, 2018. "Agricultural yield and conflict," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 397-417.
    8. Nils-Petter Lagerlöf, 2021. "Multiple steady statehood: the roles of productive and extractive capacities," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 26(2), pages 113-152, June.
    9. Bluedorn, John C. & Valentinyi, Akos & Vlassopoulos, Michael, 2009. "The Long-Lived Effects of Historic Climate on the Wealth of Nations," MPRA Paper 18701, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Hansen, Casper Worm, 2013. "Economic growth and individualism: The role of informal institutions," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 118(2), pages 378-380.
    11. Ertan, Arhan & Fiszbein, Martin & Putterman, Louis, 2016. "Who was colonized and when? A cross-country analysis of determinants," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 165-184.
    12. James B. Ang & Per G. Fredriksson, 2017. "Statehood Experience, Legal Traditions, And Climate Change Policies," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 55(3), pages 1511-1537, July.
    13. Möhrle, Sascha & Sunde, Uwe, 2021. "Distance to the pre-industrial technological frontier, patience, and economic development," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    14. Quamrul Ashraf & Oded Galor, 2013. "The 'Out of Africa' Hypothesis, Human Genetic Diversity, and Comparative Economic Development," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(1), pages 1-46, February.
    15. Justin Cook, C., 2014. "Potatoes, milk, and the Old World population boom," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 123-138.
    16. Oded Galor & Omer Ozak, 2014. "The Agricultural Origins of Time Preference," Working Papers 2014-5, Brown University, Department of Economics.
    17. Per G. Fredriksson & Jim R. Wollscheid, 2018. "Legal origins and environmental policies: evidence from OECD and developing countries," Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences, Springer, vol. 11(3), pages 369-375, October.
    18. Olsson, Ola & Paik, Christopher, 2016. "Long-run cultural divergence: Evidence from the Neolithic Revolution," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 197-213.
    19. Atanga Ondoa Henri & Seabrook Arthur Mveng, 2023. "State history, governance and financial institutions' efficiency: Evidence from African countries," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(4), pages 3824-3832, October.
    20. Oded Galor & Viacheslav Savitskiy, 2018. "Climatic Roots of Loss Aversion," NBER Working Papers 25273, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:9:p:1416-:d:899948. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.