Earliest systematic coal exploitation for fuel extended to ~3600 B.P.

Author:

Qiu Menghan1ORCID,Liu Ruiliang2ORCID,Li Xingyuan1,Du Linyao1ORCID,Ruan Qiurong3,Pollard A. Mark4,Zhang Shanjia1ORCID,Yuan Xiao5ORCID,Liu Fengwen1,Li Gang1,Li Gaojun6ORCID,Jiao Zhimin6,Luo Jiaming3,Chen Shengqian7,Yang Xiaoyan1ORCID,Wang Yongqiang3ORCID,Han Jianye5ORCID,Chen Fahu17ORCID,Dong Guanghui1ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Key Laboratory of Western China’s Environmental Systems (Ministry of Education), College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.

2. The Department of Asia, British Museum, London, UK.

3. Xinjiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Urumqi, China.

4. Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.

5. Department of Archaeology and Museum Studies, School of History, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China.

6. Key Laboratory of Surficial Geochemistry (Ministry of Education), Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.

7. Alpine Paleoecology and Human Adaptation Group (ALPHA), State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Environment and Resources (TPESER), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research (ITPCAS), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, China.

Abstract

Coal has long fueled human civilizations. The history of systematic coal fuel exploitation has been traced back to the late third millennium before present (post-2500 B.P.). Although sporadic combustion of coal for fuel was reported in some prehistoric archaeological sites, evidence for the systematic exploitation of coal for fuel before 2500 B.P. remains lacking. Here, we report comprehensive understanding for the earliest systematic exploitation of coal for fuel at the Jirentaigoukou site in Xinjiang, northwestern China, at ~3600 B.P. The main body of the site witnessed systematic exploitation of bituminous coals, illustrating a complete chaîne opératoire with selective mining, planned storage, and extensive combustion. Our results transform the knowledge of energy history by extending the upper limit of the systematic exploitation of coal for fuel by approximately a millennium, and provide a precedent of energy transition under intense conflict between social demand and environmental deterioration.

Publisher

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Subject

Multidisciplinary

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