Abstract:
With the environmental indicators of the late Neolithic sites of Sihe’nan Site, Erlitou Site and Xinzhai Site,prehistoric (4.2~3.5 kaBP) agricultural production environment in the west area of Henan province was discussed. Bordered in the Cooling events in 4 kaBP, the area was warm and wet climate in late Longshan Culture stage, in addition to millet agriculture but also have some rice agriculture production. In the Erlitou cultural period, however, the climate became dry and cool, while dry farming made a rapid development. According to the carbon and nitrogen isotopes data of the animal bones unearthed in the Erlitou and Xinzhai Sites, it was suggested that the diet of people in both periods was mainly with C
4 crops, the progress of animal husbandry reflected in proportion of meat-intake in the Erlitou period was higher than Longshan period. At the same time,the fact of the sickle-typed tools replacing of axe-typed tools proved that dry farming was already quite mature in the late Erlitou period