Wood Utilization During the Late Bronze to Early Iron Age in the Turpan Basin of Xinjiang, China, With Special Emphasis on Betula (Betulaceae)

As a very important plant resource, wood played varied and important roles in the lives of ancient people. In the present study, wood was discovered in the Yanghai cemetery of the Turpan Basin, which belonged to the Subeixi culture (~1300BC–200AD). By using traditional classification techniques of wood anatomy, four taxa of wood, viz. Populus sp., Salix sp., Picea sp., as well as Betula sp., were identified. Woods of Populus, Salix, and Picea were mainly used for tomb construction, with Poplus sp. also used for tub and plate-making. Furthermore, the wood of Betula sp. was selected for dipper-making. Previous studies have shown that the ancient Yanghai people once led an agro-pastoral lifestyle, engaging in both agricultural activities in the local oasis and animal husbandry practices in the Tianshan Mountains. As trees adapted to the cold, wood of Picea sp. and Betula sp. could have been cut in the Tianshan Mountains during transhumance. Conversely, wood of Populus sp. and Salix sp. could have been cut either locally in the oasis of the Turpan Basin or in the river valleys of the northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains far from Yanghai settlements.