Farming strategies of 1st millennium CE agro-pastoralists on the southern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains: A geoarchaeological and macrobotanical investigation of the Mohuchahangoukou (MGK) site, Xinjiang, China

Ancient agro-pastoralists in the arid foothills of China's Tianshan Mountains ingeniously adapted to extreme conditions by constructing stone-built irrigation systems that trapped floodwater and sediment, enabling crop cultivation. This study reveals their ability to accumulate up to 40 cm of fine-grained sediment over just 200 years, creating deeper, fertile soils in an otherwise barren landscape. However, high soil salinization (>2 dSm-1) suggests this strategy may have limited long-term sustainability. The research combines geoarchaeological analysis with macrobotanical identification to uncover these farming innovations and the labor specialization required to balance irrigation and herding demands.

Li, Y., Storozum, M., Tian, D., Frachetti, M., Su, K., & Wang, X. (2019). Farming strategies of 1st millennium CE agro-pastoralists on the southern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains: A geoarchaeological and macrobotanical investigation of the Mohuchahangoukou (MGK) site, Xinjiang, China. Plos One, 14(6), e0217171. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0217171