What marks the arrival of agricultural civilization?

The birth of primitive agriculture marks the arrival of the era of agricultural civilization.

Agricultural production is closely related to climate resources, and superior climate resources are an important condition for the birth of agricultural civilization. Climate elements mainly include temperature, precipitation and light. China is located in the east of Asia-Europe continent and the west coast of the Pacific Ocean, with great differences in thermal properties between land and sea, forming the most typical monsoon climate in the world.

Monsoon climate is the main feature of China climate, which is a mixture of continental climate and maritime climate. In winter, affected by the dry and cold air flow in the inland, the weather is cold, dry and rainy; In summer, it is hot, humid and rainy because of the warm and humid air currents in the ocean. The high temperature period is consistent with the rainy season, and the water and heat are well coordinated, which is very beneficial to the growth of crops.

The precipitation in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River in China is mainly concentrated in summer, showing the climatic characteristics of "rain and heat at the same time". Abundant sunshine, high temperature and abundant precipitation are superior climatic conditions in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River in China, which are suitable for crop growth. As early as ancient times, agricultural civilization was born here, which is the earliest area in China, and the 24 solar terms also originated from this.

Archaeologists in China have been taking the exploration of agricultural origin as an important academic topic for decades, and have conducted investigations and excavations in Jianghuai, Hehan and Han basins and vast areas, and found a number of sites, such as Zhupi Rock in Guilin, Guangxi, Wannian Fairy Cave in Jiangxi, Cishan in Wu 'an, Hebei, Peiligang in Xinzheng, Henan, Nanzhuangtou in Xu Shui, Hebei, Pengtou Mountain in Lixian, Hunan and other places.

The first two sites are about eight or nine thousand years ago. Wu 'an Cishan site and Xinzheng Peiligang site are also earlier than Yangshao culture in the Central Plains, seven or eight thousand years ago.