The pine tree revealed the secrets of China's "golden age"

Russian scientists as part of an international group of researchers have established that a stable regime of high humidity is one of the main reasons for the emergence of the ancient Chinese Empire of Qin and the beginning of Chinese statehood.

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The scientific work is based on the analysis of wood according to the Vaganov–Shashkin model. This technique was developed in Russia and was named after the names of the creators.

"In the course of our research, we studied samples of Chinese pine — both living trees and half-fossil wood that has been preserved in the ground, as well as in the form of various cultural artifacts. Chinese experts have collected a large amount of data in the vicinity of the city of Xi'an, which was the capital of the Qin and Western Han empires. Next, the specialists measured the width of the growth rings and conducted an isotope analysis," Vladimir Shishov, one of the project participants and director of the Institute of Fundamental Biology and Biotechnology at Siberian Federal University, told Izvestia.

The results of analysis and computational experiments have shown that ancient China during the reign of the Qin and Han dynasties was characterized by a climate with stable high humidity. For example, at that time, the annual precipitation was 16-34% higher than in the modern period. This led to the expansion of territories suitable for agriculture, and contributed to an increase in population and the development of economic relations.

Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:

Coniferous interpretation: pine revealed the secrets of China's "golden age"