NEOLITHIC CULTURAL EVOLUTION AND ITS ENVIRONMENTAL DRIVING FORCE IN THE GANSU-QINGHAI REGION: PROBLEMS AND PERSPECTIVES

The relationship between Neolithic cultural evolution and climate change is a hot issue in geosciences. The Gansu-Qinghai region is an ideal one to study the man-land interaction during the Neolithic period. The environment is susceptible to climate change, and abundant Neolithic relics have been found in the area. In this paper, upon the summarization and comparison of the results of archaeological studies, radiocarbon dating and climate changes during early-mid Holocene in the Gansu-Qinghai region, the advancement and imperfection of the researches on Neolithic cultural evolution and the environmental driving force were discussed, and the tendency of future development in the study field was also presented. According to current results, four primary phases of Neolithic evolution in the Gansu-Qinghai region were concluded. During the first stage of Dadiwan culture(7800~7200 a BP)and the second stage in early-mid Yangshao period(6700~5500 a BP), small scale Neolithic cultures appeared in the Gansu-Qinghai region, which were distributed in the eastern Gansu Province. The Neolithic cultures were expanded and rapidly developed for the first time in the region during the Late Yangshao and early-mid Majiayao periods(5500~4800 a BP), and the second expansion or the most prosperous stage of the Neolithic cultures appeared during the late Majiayao and Qijia periods(4500~3800 a BP). Climate change during the Neolithic period may be one of the factors, which influenced the development and transformation of cultures in the Gansu-Qinghai region. However, it is not the only one. The impact of the development of agriculture on cultural expansion in this region during the mid-late Neolithic period should not be ignored. To better understand the Spatial and temporal distribution of the Neolithic cultures in the region and its influencing factors requires more accurate radiocarbon dating of the Neolithic relics, high-resolution and accurate sequences of climatic changes, and the study of the mechanism of the impact of climate change on Neolithic cultural evolution. The communication and cooperation between archaeologists and natural scientists remain important for future advancement of this research field.