Water management and wheat yields in ancient China: Carbon isotope 
discrimination of archaeological wheat grains

Xinying, Zhou; Lin, Zhu; Spengler III, Robert N.; Keliang, Zhao; Junchi, Liu; Xing, Xu; Yige, Bao; Dodson, John; Hai, Xu; Xiaoqiang, Li

doi:10.1177/0959683620970249

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Water management and wheat yields in ancient China: Carbon isotope discrimination of archaeological wheat grains

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Spengler III, Robert N.
Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Max Planck Society;

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Citation

Xinying, Z., Lin, Z., Spengler III, R. N., Keliang, Z., Junchi, L., Xing, X., et al. (2021). Water management and wheat yields in ancient China: Carbon isotope discrimination of archaeological wheat grains. The Holocene, 31(2): 0959683620970249, pp. 285-293. doi:10.1177/0959683620970249.

Cite as: https://hdl.handle.net/21.11116/0000-0007-7B4F-8

Abstract

The evaluation of ancient crop production and its response to climate change is key to exploring the ancient demographic and social changes. Wheat is currently the third most widely cultivated crop worldwide and was a major component across of the agricultural systems of the ancient Eurasia. In this study, the delta 13C values of 116 charred wheat grains from 28 archaeological sites, with direct AMS 14C dating of 3952±66 to 389±73cal yr BP, across northern China are reported. The result shows that the ?13C values estimated wheat yields ranged from 0.5 to 2.5Mg ha-1, during the past 4000 years. The water supply and grain yield of wheat cultivation is the highest in China during the Bronze Age; however, the water supply and yield were significantly affected by climate fluctuation in the middle-late Holocene. No significant long-term trend of increasing wheat yield is observed over this interval, but a correlation between delta 13C values estimated wheat yield and cyclical climate changes can be noted.