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<p>Located in the foothills of the Tianshan Mountains, the Adunqiaolu site (c.1800‒1300 BCE) represents one of the easternmost extensions of the Andronovo Cultural Complex. Through analyses of 4,800 fragments of wood charcoal and 44 seed remains from the site, our study illustrates the plant utilization strategies and construction techniques adopted by these early transhumant agropastoralists, offering direct insights into how humans coped with the harsh environment of the arid Inner Asian mountains. Our findings reveal that the inhabitants mainly exploited riparian vegetation as their wood resources, while coniferous forest remains were present only in limited amount. Moreover, growth ring curvature measurements indicate that distinct collection strategies based on wood species were adopted, with people selectively harvesting branches or twigs from riparian plants but utilising trunks of spruce trees. Riparian branches were primarily used as fuel but also intentionally incorporated into domestic structures, where narrow willow branches (mostly 2–5&#xa0;cm in diameter) were arranged within double-layered walls for reinforcement. In contrast, spruce remains were dispersed throughout the dwelling showing no evidence of specialized use. We conclude that by the second millennium BCE, agropastoralist communities in the Tianshan Mountains were already actively engaging with the local ecosystem, strategically utilising available woody resources to sustain their livelihoods in a challenging landscape.</p>

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Ancient human-environment interactions in the Tianshan mountains: wood charcoal evidence from Adunqiaolu, Western China

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月21日

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  • Hui Shen,
  • Dexin Cong,
  • Peter Weiming Jia,
  • Robert Spengler,
  • Xuan Li,
  • Alison Betts,
  • Xinying Zhou,
  • Xiaoqiang Li

摘要

Located in the foothills of the Tianshan Mountains, the Adunqiaolu site (c.1800‒1300 BCE) represents one of the easternmost extensions of the Andronovo Cultural Complex. Through analyses of 4,800 fragments of wood charcoal and 44 seed remains from the site, our study illustrates the plant utilization strategies and construction techniques adopted by these early transhumant agropastoralists, offering direct insights into how humans coped with the harsh environment of the arid Inner Asian mountains. Our findings reveal that the inhabitants mainly exploited riparian vegetation as their wood resources, while coniferous forest remains were present only in limited amount. Moreover, growth ring curvature measurements indicate that distinct collection strategies based on wood species were adopted, with people selectively harvesting branches or twigs from riparian plants but utilising trunks of spruce trees. Riparian branches were primarily used as fuel but also intentionally incorporated into domestic structures, where narrow willow branches (mostly 2–5 cm in diameter) were arranged within double-layered walls for reinforcement. In contrast, spruce remains were dispersed throughout the dwelling showing no evidence of specialized use. We conclude that by the second millennium BCE, agropastoralist communities in the Tianshan Mountains were already actively engaging with the local ecosystem, strategically utilising available woody resources to sustain their livelihoods in a challenging landscape.