1
|
Relationship between ancient bridges and population dynamics in the lower Yangtze River Basin, China. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0182560. [PMID: 28792976 PMCID: PMC5549911 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0182560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2016] [Accepted: 07/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
It has been suggested that population growth dynamics may be revealed by the geographic distribution and the physical structure of ancient bridges. Yet, this relationship has not been empirically verified. In this study, we applied the archaeological records for ancient bridges to reveal the population growth dynamics in the lower Yangtze River Basin in late imperial China. We investigated 89 ancient bridges in Yixing that were built during the Ming and Qing dynasties (AD1368-1911). Global Position System information and structure (length, width, and span) of those bridges was measured during our field investigations. Their distribution density was calculated by ArcGIS. The historical socio-economic dynamics of Yixing was inferred from the distribution and structure of ancient bridges. Based on the above information, the population growth dynamics in Yixing was projected. Our results show that 77 bridges were built in Yixing during the Qing dynasty, which is 6.41 times more than the number built during the Ming dynasty. In the Ming dynasty, bridges were built on pivotal routes; in the Qing dynasty, bridges were scattered across various places. Over the period, the density distribution of bridges shifted northwestward, while the average length and width of bridges decreased. The increasing number of bridges corresponded to population growth, largely attributable to massive clan migration from northern China during the Little Ice Age. The shift in the density distribution of bridges corresponded to the formation of settlements of large clans and the blossoming of Yixing Teapot handicrafts. The scattering and the reduction in average length and width of bridges was due to the dispersal of population and the associated formation of small settlements in the latter period. Our approach is innovative and robust, and could be employed to recover long-term historical population growth dynamics in other parts of China.
Collapse
|
2
|
Massilani D, Guimaraes S, Brugal JP, Bennett EA, Tokarska M, Arbogast RM, Baryshnikov G, Boeskorov G, Castel JC, Davydov S, Madelaine S, Putelat O, Spasskaya NN, Uerpmann HP, Grange T, Geigl EM. Past climate changes, population dynamics and the origin of Bison in Europe. BMC Biol 2016; 14:93. [PMID: 27769298 PMCID: PMC5075162 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-016-0317-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2016] [Accepted: 10/11/2016] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Climatic and environmental fluctuations as well as anthropogenic pressure have led to the extinction of much of Europe's megafauna. The European bison or wisent (Bison bonasus), one of the last wild European large mammals, narrowly escaped extinction at the onset of the 20th century owing to hunting and habitat fragmentation. Little is known, however, about its origin, evolutionary history and population dynamics during the Pleistocene. RESULTS Through ancient DNA analysis we show that the emblematic European bison has experienced several waves of population expansion, contraction, and extinction during the last 50,000 years in Europe, culminating in a major reduction of genetic diversity during the Holocene. Fifty-seven complete and partial ancient mitogenomes from throughout Europe, the Caucasus, and Siberia reveal that three populations of wisent (Bison bonasus) and steppe bison (B. priscus) alternately occupied Western Europe, correlating with climate-induced environmental changes. The Late Pleistocene European steppe bison originated from northern Eurasia, whereas the modern wisent population emerged from a refuge in the southern Caucasus after the last glacial maximum. A population overlap during a transition period is reflected in ca. 36,000-year-old paintings in the French Chauvet cave. Bayesian analyses of these complete ancient mitogenomes yielded new dates of the various branching events during the evolution of Bison and its radiation with Bos, which lead us to propose that the genetic affiliation between the wisent and cattle mitogenomes result from incomplete lineage sorting rather than post-speciation gene flow. CONCLUSION The paleogenetic analysis of bison remains from the last 50,000 years reveals the influence of climate changes on the dynamics of the various bison populations in Europe, only one of which survived into the Holocene, where it experienced severe reductions in its genetic diversity. The time depth and geographical scope of this study enables us to propose temperate Western Europe as a suitable biotope for the wisent compatible with its reintroduction.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Diyendo Massilani
- Institut Jacques Monod, UMR7592, CNRS, University Paris Diderot, Epigenome and Paleogenome group, 15 rue Hélène Brion, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Silvia Guimaraes
- Institut Jacques Monod, UMR7592, CNRS, University Paris Diderot, Epigenome and Paleogenome group, 15 rue Hélène Brion, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Jean-Philip Brugal
- CNRS, USR 3336 IFRA (Institut Français de Recherche en Afrique), Nairobi, Kenya.,Aix-Marseille Université, UMR 7269 LAMPEA (Labo.Méd.de Préhistoire, Europe-Afrique) Maison Méditerranéenne des Sciences de l'Homme, BP 674, 13094, Aix-en-Provence, cedex 2, France
| | - E Andrew Bennett
- Institut Jacques Monod, UMR7592, CNRS, University Paris Diderot, Epigenome and Paleogenome group, 15 rue Hélène Brion, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Malgorzata Tokarska
- Mammal Research Institute Polish Academy of Sciences, Genetics and Evolution Department, Waszkiewicza 1, 17-230, Bialowieza, Poland
| | - Rose-Marie Arbogast
- CNRS/UMR 7044/MISHA, 5 allée du Général Rouvillois, 67083, Strasbourg, France
| | - Gennady Baryshnikov
- Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, 199034, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Gennady Boeskorov
- Diamond and Precious Metal Geology Institute of the Siberian Branch of the RAS, Yakutsk, Russia
| | - Jean-Christophe Castel
- Muséum d'histoire naturelle de Genève (MHN), Département d'Archéozoologie, Route de Malagnou 1, 1208, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Sergey Davydov
- North-East Science Station, Pacific Institute of Geography, Far East Branch, Russ. Ac. Sci., 678830, Cherskiy, Russia
| | - Stéphane Madelaine
- Musée national de Préhistoire, 24620, Les Eyzies de Tayac-Sireuil, France
| | - Olivier Putelat
- Archéologie Alsace, 11 rue Jean-François Champollion, 67600, Sélestat, France.,UMR 7041 ArScan - Archéologies environnementales - Maison de l'Archéologie et de l'Ethnologie, 92023, Nanterre, France
| | - Natalia N Spasskaya
- Zoological Museum of Moscow Lomonosow, State University, Bolshaya Nikitskaya Str. 6, Moscow, 125009, Russia
| | - Hans-Peter Uerpmann
- Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters, Abteilung Ältere Urgeschichte und Quartärökologie, Zentrum für Naturwissenschaftliche Archäologie, Rümelinstr. 23, 72070, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Thierry Grange
- Institut Jacques Monod, UMR7592, CNRS, University Paris Diderot, Epigenome and Paleogenome group, 15 rue Hélène Brion, 75013, Paris, France.
| | - Eva-Maria Geigl
- Institut Jacques Monod, UMR7592, CNRS, University Paris Diderot, Epigenome and Paleogenome group, 15 rue Hélène Brion, 75013, Paris, France.
| |
Collapse
|