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Cereals, soils and iron at Sanyangzhuang: Western Han agricultural production in the Central Plains

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2019

Zhen Qin ,
Michael Storozum ,
Hao Zhao ,
Haiwang Liu ,
Kui Fu  and
Tristram R. Kidder
Zhen Qin*
Affiliation:
School of History and Culture, Henan University, Kaifeng, Henan 475001, P.R. China Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, Missouri 63130, USA
Michael Storozum
Affiliation:
Fudan Archaeological Science Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, P.R. China
Hao Zhao
Affiliation:
Department of History, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450001, P.R. China
Haiwang Liu
Affiliation:
Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Zhengzhou, Henan 450000, P.R. China
Kui Fu
Affiliation:
College of Humanities, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang 321004, P.R. China
Tristram R. Kidder
Affiliation:
School of History and Culture, Henan University, Kaifeng, Henan 475001, P.R. China Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, Missouri 63130, USA
*
*Author for correspondence (Email: [email protected])
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Abstract

Archaeological research on food-production systems has focused heavily on the origins of agriculture and animal domestication; the agricultural practices of early states are comparatively less well understood. This article explores archaeological evidence for crop cultivation, field-management practices and the use of farming implements at the Western Han (202 BC–AD 8) village of Sanyangzhuang in Henan Province, China. The authors analyse the implications of these practices for the newly developed smallholder mode of production. By combining diverse strands of evidence, this investigation provides new insights into the status of agricultural production in the Central Plains during the Western Han Dynasty.

Keywords

ChinaSanyangzhuangWestern Han agriculturesmallholdermicromorphology
Type
Research
Information
Antiquity , Volume 93 , Issue 369 , June 2019 , pp. 685 - 701
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2019 

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