古地震学的发展和未来

古地震学是适应重大工程建设中地震危险性评价的需要而发展起来的,它以鉴定和研究史前地震为主要内容。在与历史地震类似地质效应对比的基础上,古地震学研究已经提供了大量的不同构造环境下史前地震的证据,并已试图建立了多种断层习性模式。未来的研究重点应集中在检验和发展新的测年技术、系统调查历史地震事件以及阐述长期和短期的断层习性特征等方面。     

从史前考古论中国热带地理环境的相对稳定性

参照60多处考古遗址的资料,认为史前时期古人类的活动及热带动物群的断续繁衍反映了中国热带自然地理环境的相对稳定性,因而生产力的发展比较迟缓,与北方地区相比,磨制石器的出现滞后约3 000a,青铜时代滞后约1 000a,农牧业滞后2 500～3 000a.无陶时代持续到新石器早期;彩陶和白陶的传入比北方迟2 000a.迁徒的采集渔猎生活方式延续到新石器中期,以农业为基础的定居生活比北方迟1 000～2 000a.新石器末期约5 000aBP才进入氏族社会,比北方迟约2 000a.     

The earliest prehistoric pottery in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and its archaeological implications

Remains of prehistoric human activity in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) were often found exposed in the surface due to strong erosion. Thus, archaeological sites containing continuous and integral cultural remains within stratigraphic layers are rare in the plateau. The Jiangxigou site, located in the south of Qinghai Lake basin and in the northeastern margin of the plateau, are such a site with ages ranging from the early to late Holocene, i.e. from the Paleolithic to the Neolithic. Our excavation disclosed remains including more than 700 pieces of microliths, 14 pottery pieces, and other cultural relics. The oldest pottery fragments were found at the depth of 75 cm in the section, and in particular, a painted pottery piece was found at the depth of 61 cm. In this study, both luminescence (TL and OSL) and radiocarbon dating were employed to establish the chronology for these remains. Two pieces of pottery were dated using thermoluminescence (TL), another two pieces of pottery were dated by OSL, and three charcoal samples by AMS ¹⁴C. TL age of pottery piece P14 from the depth of 75 cm is 7.06 ± 0.51 ka, making it the earliest pottery in the Tibetan Plateau. The AMS ¹⁴C age of charcoals from the same depth of 75 cm is 6805 ± 95 Cal a BP, in agreement with TL age of P14. OSL age of pottery P12 from the depth of 60–70 cm is 6.50 ± 0.47 ka, and OSL age of pottery P9 from 54 cm is 4.97 ± 0.25 ka. Thus, the age of the painted pottery piece at the depth of 61 cm should be ∼5.50 ka by interpolation, making it the earliest painted pottery in the QTP. The pottery P14 has many common features similar to that of the Yangshao culture in China. We suggest that, before 7 ka, hunters using microlithic had been living in the northeastern margin of the QTP. Since 7 ka, these native microlithic hunters had been affected by the Neolithic Yangshao culture from the Loess Plateau, which was characterized by well-developed pottery. Agricultural growers migrated from the lower elevation of the Loess Plateau to the east of the QTP, leading to profound cultural exchanges with highland native microlithic hunters.     

安徽及邻区史前地震研究进展

历史地震可靠性检验分析显示,安徽省及邻区M_S 5及以上地震完整记录起自1336年,这以前地震记载大部分丢失。近年来,地震和考古部门利用大规模考古和工程开挖契机,编录识别分析了晚第四纪尤其是新石器时代以来构造变形遗迹。结果表明,在皖西南的西周-春秋期和皖北大汶口晚期及豫南东周期文化层中分别发现史前地震遗迹。郯庐断裂带苏皖交界地区段落,自晚更新世以来曾发生数次以斜向平移逆冲为主要方式的快速变形事件,后者得到微观研究方面的证实。研究结果一定程度上弥补了地震史料记载的局限,并丰富了考古和史前地震乃至地震预测的研究方法。     

The earliest well-dated archeological site in the hyper-arid Tarim Basin and its implications for prehistoric human migration and climatic change

The routes and timing of human occupation of the Tibetan Plateau (TP) are crucial for understanding the evolution of Tibetan populations and associated paleoclimatic conditions. Many archeological sites have been found in/around the Tarim Basin, on the northern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. Unfortunately, most of these sites are surface sites and cannot be directly dated. Their ages can only be estimated based on imprecise artifact comparisons. We recently found and dated an archeological site on a terrace along the Keriya River. Our ages indicate that the site was occupied at ~ 7.0–7.6 ka, making it the earliest well-dated archeological site yet identified in the Tarim Basin. This suggests that early human foragers migrated into this region prior to ~ 7.0–7.6 ka during the early to mid-Holocene climatic optimum, which may have provided the impetus for populating the region. We hypothesize that the Keriya River, together with the other rivers originating from the TP, may have served as access routes onto the TP for early human foragers. These rivers may also have served as stepping stones for migration further west into the now hyper-arid regions of the Tarim Basin, leading ultimately to the development of the Silk Road.