From the distribution of Neolithic sites, we can speculate about the origin of transportation and the rudimentary shape of roads at that time. Although the exploration of primitive socio-cultural sites is still ongoing, we have some preliminary information. In the Paleolithic period, people made a living by gathering, wandering around at will, and although they may have established simple dwellings, they still maintained a nomadic lifestyle. However, in the Neolithic Age, it was clear that humanity had progressed and began not only to carry out productive activities, but also to start a sedentary way of life.
This means that choosing a place to live has become even more important. Based on the distribution of the discovered sites, it can be seen that humans at that time began to make good use of the geographical environment and gradually adapted to the surrounding natural environment. Since water sources are vital to human life, the place of residence is usually chosen near the water's edge. In addition to the water source, there are some other necessary conditions and precautions. It was because of the geographical environment that the residence at that time was used for a relatively long time.
In the Neolithic period, humans could not only engage in productive activities, but also exchange activities. For example, jade tablets and jade shards have been found in some Neolithic sites and tombs in the Taohe River valley in Gansu Province. The Tao River valley is not a source of jade, so these jade pieces and jade shards were apparently transported from other places. Regardless of where these jade pieces and jade shards come from, they will need to go through a long journey and toss to get here. This suggests that not only was there already transportation available at that time, but the journey could have been quite distant.
The location of some of the sites already shows the importance that humans attached to transportation conditions. As mentioned earlier, when people at that time chose a place to live, in addition to the water source, the convenience of transportation was also a factor to consider. It is more convenient to walk along the river than to cross the mountains, so there are more ruins along the river. This can be illustrated by taking the Weishui Basin as an example. The Weishui River flows through the east and west of Longshan, and the east side is the plain along the stream, which is vast and harmless.
On the west side, because it is located on a plateau, there are many mountains, and the traffic is very difficult, so the ruins are mainly distributed along the Weishui area. Weishui originates in Weiyuan County, flows eastward through Longxi and Wushan counties, and westward through Gangu and Tianshui counties, and the ruins of these places are continuous and intertwined with each other. It can be clearly seen that as early as the Neolithic Age, the east-west traffic avenue along Weishui has been initially formed. During the Neolithic period, people were deeply aware of the importance of transportation, so they chose their place of residence with transportation conditions in mind.
They often live near rivers, especially where two rivers meet. For example, the Neolithic site of Lianhuatai in Yongjing County and the Neolithic site in Nanzhao County are located at the confluence of the Yellow Duck River and the Baihe River, which are still convenient for transportation. This pattern was discovered as early as the Neolithic period. However, living on the banks of river valleys has its limitations. As the population grew, the banks of the river valley gradually became less than satisfied.
For example, there are 15 villages in Dalaidian and Fangtou villages in Jun County, Henan Province, which are close to the banks of the Qishui River, but 11 Neolithic sites have been discovered, and the distance between these sites is less than a mile, which is difficult to achieve in modern times. Although agriculture already existed at that time, it was not feasible to live in one place for a long time because it was not possible to overcome the natural law of decreasing soil fertility because it did not know how to apply fertilizer, and it was necessary to choose a new place of residence. As a result, more residential areas have been found along the banks of river valleys.
Nowadays, there are Neolithic sites all over the country, and not only the plains are quite rich, but there are also traces of hills and mountains. With the expansion of the residential area, the range of exchange also increased, and the traffic roads gradually extended, and more important traffic routes were formed. The Yellow River Basin, where Yangshao culture and Longshan culture are distributed, is the most extensive, and the main transportation routes are also relatively obvious.
In the vicinity of the Weishui River, after the expansion of the residential area of the ancient road in Changxi, the scope of exchange was also expanded, and the traffic roads were also extended, gradually forming a more important traffic route. It is worth mentioning that on this east-west road, there is a big difference between the east and west, the former is in the south of Weishui, and the latter is in the north of Weishui. This article tells about the traffic roads in ancient China and the history of the Weishui Road.
Taking the Longhai Railway as an example, the author illustrates that the difference between the topography of the eastern and western sections of the ancient transportation plan plays an important role in the development of transportation roads. At the same time, the author points out that people have mastered the laws of natural evolution as early as the Neolithic period, indicating that ancient Chinese people have a deep understanding of the natural environment. Follow the Weishui Road eastward, past Luoyang, to the vicinity of Zhengzhou, and this road is not limited to the Weishui Basin, but also extends to the Yellow River Basin.
The authors point out that the lack of ruins in the area east of Zhengzhou does not mean that they are uninhabited, and that the ruins may be buried underground due to the flooding of the Yellow River. Jishui is an ancient waterway, which existed at the same time as the Yellow River and Weishui, and the Longshan culture developed in the lower reaches of Jishui, indicating that there was once a major transportation road that ran through the coast of the East China Sea to the source of Weishui. The west of the bird and mouse mountain is the Tao River Basin, and then the Huangshui River Basin, which is an area where Qijia culture and Majiayao culture are developed, and the Weishui Road may also extend to the Huangshui Basin.
The same is true of the Fenshui basin in the west of Taihang Mountain, along the Fenshui River, Linfen City, Hongdong, and Xiangfen counties are also found. Although the density does not seem to be as dense as that between the cities of Xingtai and Handan in Taihang Shandong, Fenshui is not a trickle and may be easier to use from the perspective of transportation. Finally, the author suggested that this was probably a major north-south thoroughfare, based on the places where the southern section of the Tongpu Railway passed and the ruins in Yan'an, Huangling, and other counties and cities in Shaanxi.
This paper shows people's cognition and utilization of the natural environment and the importance of transportation by revealing the development process of transportation roads in ancient China. In ancient times, the mountains south of Huangling and Yijun overlapped, which caused the railway from Xi'an to Yan'an to only follow the original road and could not be detoured. However, the discovery of Neolithic sites in Tongchuan and Yaoxian confirms that ancient roads ever crossed these mountains. Similar ancient traffic conditions also existed in the south of Huaishui, especially in the coastal areas of Huaishui.
Perhaps it's because the Yangtze River is too vast to be used as easily as Huaishui. However, transportation between the Yellow River and the Yangtze River is not impossible. One of the main tributaries of the Yangtze River is the Han River, and the Neolithic people also tried their best to use the Han River, just as they did with other rivers. The Baihe River, a tributary of the Han River, and the Yishui, a tributary of the Yellow River, are the closest to each other, and there are a considerable number of ruins on the banks of both tributaries, making it possible to travel between the two areas as long as they cross the mountains.
Another notable traffic line is the traffic between the Yangtze River basin and the Pearl River basin. Although the Pearl River is not as wide as the Yangtze River, it has a long history. The Xijiang River originates in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, where the mountains are so rolling that even today that transportation is still difficult, let alone from the Neolithic period thousands of years ago. However, on both sides of the South Ridge, we can vaguely see the connection between them. The tributaries of the Yangtze River, the Xiang River and the Gan River, both flow down from Nanling, while the Lishui River of the Xijiang River and some tributaries of the Beijiang River also originate from the foot of the Nanling Mountains.
There are a considerable number of Neolithic sites in the vicinity of these rivers, some of which are not too far apart. Therefore, there is still a certain possibility of crossing the ridge by boat. The above is based only on speculation from existing Neolithic sites, as these sites are interconnected and can easily expand communication relationships, thus forming traffic roads. The traffic roads at that time may not have been limited to the above-mentioned ones, but since they were quite far from each other, they did not need to be detailed one by one.