DIFFERENT RESPONSE MODELS OF PREHISTORIC ECONOMY TO 4kaB.P.CLIMATE EVENT IN THE REACHES OF HUANGHE RIVER
黄河流域史前经济形态对4kaB.P.气候事件的响应

Prehistoric economy is closely related to environment.Economic patterns reflect different human response models to environment in different regions.Reviewing on the prehistoric economic proxies such as plant macrofossils,animal bones and δ 13 C and δ 15 N of human bones excavated from archaeological sites in the upper,middle,and lower reaches of Huanghe River around 4kaB.P.,the authors found out that the prehistoric economies are definitely different and could be summarized as three models:(1)The Ganqing Model from a single millet agriculture to a mixed agriculture with nomadism in the upper reaches;(2)The Shangdong Model from millet &; rice agriculture to millet agriculture in the lower reaches;(3)The Continuous Central China millet agriculture model in the middle reaches.We found out that climate changed extensively from warm/moist to dry/cold at the beginning of 4kaB.P.in all reaches of Huanghe River on the basis of the clear definition of 4kaB.P.climate event.Obviously,the changes of the economic pattern along the Huanghe River coupled with the 4kaB.P.climate event.However,the reason causing the difference in economic pattern in different reaches of the river is unknown.Human beings may adjust its subsistence strategy according to local geographic environment,ecologic system,and cultural tradition.When it turned to extremely dry/cold environment at 4kaB.P.the following strategies might have been taken by humans in different regions:(1)People might be forced to extend food resource by feeding animals such as sheep and cow when millet agriculture couldn't provide enough food with low precipitation in upper reaches of Huanghe River;(2)People might have no choice but resorting to millet agriculture because rice could not survive in lowered temperature in the lower reaches of Huanghe River;(3)People may have remained their old millet agriculture in terms of good geographic condition and abundant biological resources in the middle reaches of Huanghe River.Thus,the prehistoric economic difference may mainly related with regional discrepancy of climate change and different human response to climate change besides human's cultural tradition and adaptation ability in three regions along the Huanghe River near 4kaB.P.