Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –
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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) — A prosperous agricultural civilization that emerged in the Bronze Age oases of southern Central Asia collapsed largely due to prolonged drought, scientists from China and Uzbekistan have concluded after years of research.
It is known that the oases in the south of Central Asia were an important hub of exchange between ancient civilizations between Asia and Europe. The emergence of settlements in this region about 4,000 years ago was due to the increased frequency of exchanges between eastern and western civilizations and the rapid development of agriculture.
Scholars view Central Asia as a key region for studying the development and spread of agriculture and environmental adaptation of early civilizations in arid zones in the context of intercontinental exchanges of civilizations.
A group of researchers from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, together with Northwest University /China/, Fergana State University /Uzbekistan/ and the State Archaeological Center of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, conducted long-term studies of two archaeological sites of Sapallitepa and Jarkutan in southern Uzbekistan.
Sapallitepa is a settlement of ancient farmers of the Bronze Age in the Surkhandarya River valley, and Dzharkutan is an ancient settlement, one of the largest monuments in Central Asia, dating back to the final stage of the Bronze Age.
The results of the analysis of spore powder and stable isotopes show that 4200-3900 years ago, the oases in the south of Central Asia had favorable meteorological conditions. Local residents grew various types of crops, including barley, wheat, millet, grapes, oleaster, etc.
The scientists also conducted morphological studies of the fruits of the narrow-leaved oleaster extracted from the ground and found out their different origins. Thus, at that time in the oases in the south of Central Asia, a production method of growing foreign crops in combination with the collection of local aboriginal crops appeared, the scientists said.
The team found that paleoclimate data showed that the drying trend in southern Central Asia and northern South Asia began about 3,900 years ago. The deterioration of the environment caused by the drought lasted for about a century, leading to a decline in the number of local inhabitants.
At the same time, the number of pastoralists increased significantly in the southern part of the Eurasian steppes, where the climate was relatively humid. The prosperity and spread of the pastoral culture to the south were important factors that led to the decline of agricultural civilization in the oases of southern Central Asia and the migration of nomads there in the late Bronze Age.
The results of the research by scientists from China and Uzbekistan were recently published in prestigious international scientific journals Journal of Archaeological Science and Quaternary Science Reviews. -0-
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