**4. Discussion**

**4. Discussion** 

with nature.

The early sites in the Sanhe region were located in a variety of geographic environments, among which, in the prehistoric period, the ancestors generally settled in the sunny areas, and the areas where they were living also needed to get water conveniently and not be easily flooded. The factors in selecting sites for early settlement increased and became more complex. According to the evolution of the relationship between the distribution characteristics of early sites and the environment in the Sanhe region, it can be seen that from the Paleolithic Age to the Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties, early human settlement site selection in the Sanhe region underwent a development process from being subjected The early sites in the Sanhe region were located in a variety of geographic environments, among which, in the prehistoric period, the ancestors generally settled in the sunny areas, and the areas where they were living also needed to get water conveniently and not be easily flooded. The factors in selecting sites for early settlement increased and became more complex. According to the evolution of the relationship between the distribution characteristics of early sites and the environment in the Sanhe region, it can be seen that from the Paleolithic Age to the Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties, early human settlement site selection in the Sanhe region underwent a development process from being subjected to/restricted by nature to conforming to nature, and then to acceptance and coordination with nature.

to/restricted by nature to conforming to nature, and then to acceptance and coordination The more than 5000 early sites used in the study cover almost all the early sites that have been discovered in the study area. Throughout the statistical analysis process, this research has tried to apply statistical methods to ensure the accuracy and scientificity of the analysis results; however, with the topography and water system changes, there may The more than 5000 early sites used in the study cover almost all the early sites that have been discovered in the study area. Throughout the statistical analysis process, this research has tried to apply statistical methods to ensure the accuracy and scientificity of the analysis results; however, with the topography and water system changes, there may be some changes between the early environment and modern times. Using the current geographical environment data to represent the past, however, may bring errors to the research, so the relevant analysis should be further explored in subsequent study in conjunction with the historical literature.

be some changes between the early environment and modern times. Using the current geographical environment data to represent the past, however, may bring errors to the research, so the relevant analysis should be further explored in subsequent study in conjunction with the historical literature. In addition, to study the influence of geographical factors on cultural sites, the aca-In addition, to study the influence of geographical factors on cultural sites, the academic community has not yet formed a systematic index selection system, which is mostly combined with previous research experience. This practice may lead to certain errors in the research results. In this research, the selection of geographical factors is a summary made after consulting the existing literature, and in follow-up research, it is very important to form a set of systematic evaluation indexes for this kind of research. In terms of methods, it

made after consulting the existing literature, and in follow-up research, it is very important to form a set of systematic evaluation indexes for this kind of research. In terms of methods, it is not the best solution to study the influence of geographical factors on the distribution of sites by grading them. In future research, it is the most important thing to

adopt more scientific methods or improve the existing methods.

demic community has not yet formed a systematic index selection system, which is mostly

is not the best solution to study the influence of geographical factors on the distribution of sites by grading them. In future research, it is the most important thing to adopt more scientific methods or improve the existing methods.

## **5. Conclusions**

From the Paleolithic Age to the Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties, the concentration of the sites gradually increased from a more natural, scattered distribution to a more concentrated distribution. The distribution of the sites gradually developed from a single high-density group distribution to a number of high-density groups, and at the same time, high-density distribution belts and banded distribution characteristics appeared, which indicated that the links between the groups of the sites were closer, and that the spatial distribution direction was restricted by their surrounding environment.

The elevation, slope, aspect, topographic relief, river system, and other factors in this area have a significant impact on the distribution characteristics of the sites. The early human settlement environment is closely related to natural factors.

In the study, more than 5000 early cultural sites were collected and sorted out, covering almost all the early cultural sites found in the study area, which made the research conclusion closer to the truth statistically and further ensured the scientific nature of the research conclusion. This could inspire new ideas and open up new methods for the protection and utilization of cultural sites from the prehistoric to pre-Qin periods and make scientific reference for the rational planning and scientific decision-making of sites in the future. From prehistoric times to the pre-Qin period, the number of cultural sites is huge. Although this research has done its best to collect and perfect the relevant information, there will inevitably be omissions. Therefore, in follow-up research, the site database should be updated and supplemented in time to improve the research results.

Finally, the influence of cultural diversity on the distribution of sites should be an important research direction in the future, because the development of early civilization is inseparable from the influence of cultural, political, economic, and other factors. Therefore, in addition to physical geography, for example, cultural diversity should be considered in follow-up research.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, M.G. and H.L.; methodology, X.Y.; software, M.G.; formal analysis, X.Y. and Z.L.; writing—original draft preparation, M.G. and Z.L.; writing—review and editing, M.G. and H.L.; supervision, H.L. and Z.L.; funding acquisition, H.L. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research was funded by the Major strategic consulting projects of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (2021-HYZD-3-6).

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable.

**Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable.

**Data Availability Statement:** The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author or the first author.

**Acknowledgments:** All authors sincerely thank all those who provided data, suggestions, and criticisms for this study.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.

#### **References**


**Jiandong Li 1,2,\* ,† , Yating Song 3,4,† , Wei Zhang 5,† and Jiajia Zhu 5,†**


**Abstract:** Zhengzhou is located at the dividing point of the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, which is the core area of the origin of early Chinese civilization. Studying the influence of the ancient Yellow River distributary on the aggregation of early sites is conducive to understanding the interaction between the water environment and early humans. It will provide strong support for the systematic protection and overall display and utilization of heritage. This research is based on the data of the ancient Yellow River distributary, lakes and swamps, and early settlements. This research adopted a GIS spatial quantitative analysis method to identify early settlements. The early sites in the distributary area of the ancient Yellow River were identified from the aspects of kernel density and cluster complexity. The study analyzed the influence of the evolution of lakes and swamps on the aggregation of sites, and the distance relationship between different levels of settlements and lakes and swamps. The results show that: (1) From the Peiligang period to the Xia and Shang Dynasties, early settlements aggregated in multi-center bands along the west ancient Yellow River distributary. Moreover, the Xingyang–Guangwu trough area was an aggregation area with a large quantity and high degree of complexity. (2) From the Yangshao period to the Xia and Shang Dynasties, the settlement presented the characteristics of distributions around lakes and swamps. From a spatial perspective, the distribution of a centric zone around the Xingyang–Guangwu trough lake and swamp in the west moved to the Xingze lake in the east.

**Keywords:** the ancient Yellow River distributary; early settlements; aggregation characteristics; Zhengzhou
