Abstract
A travel or transport path reflects the settlement pattern and the spread of civilization. Travel simulations of the pre-Qin period of the Central Plains of China can deepen our understanding of the origin and development of Chinese civilization. Here, based on the idea of swarm intelligence, an ant colony optimization algorithm based on gradient descent and variable-neighborhood search (GD-VNSACO) methods is proposed to simulate the travel routes of ancestors. We simulate the process of humans gradually exploring the surrounding space and obtaining experience and inspiration in four cultural periods from 7 to 2.7 ka B.P. (including the Yangshao Period, Miaodigou II Period, Longshan Period and Xia Shang and Zhou Period). The GD-VNSACO algorithm is suitable for studying settlement travel because of its improved search ability and convergence speed based on local and overall optimization. We conclude that in the four periods, the high-density routes of transport were concentrated along the Fen River, forming a main line from north to south. Over time, high-density areas of transport and communication among settlements, as well as the transport scope, expanded. However, there was an abnormality in the Miaodigou II Period, which was mainly caused by the climate becoming dryer and colder.
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The authors thank the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments.
Funding
The paper was supported by National Key Research and Development Project of China under grant agreement No. 2020YFC1521900 and 2020YFC1521901.This paper also has received funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41801134).
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Conceptualization, F.L. and L.Y.; Methodology, F.L.; Software, Y.S.; Formal Analysis, F.L.; Investigation, F.L. and L.Y.; Data Curation, Y.S.; Writing – Original Draft Preparation, F.L.; Writing – Review & Editing, J.Z. and F.L.; Visualization, F.L. and J.Z.; Project Administration, Y.N. and L.Y.; Funding Acquisition, L.Y. and J.Z.
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Liu, F., Yu, L., Zhu, J. et al. Trip route simulation for pre-Qin settlements based on a gradient descent and variable-neighborhood ant colony optimization algorithm in the Linfen Basin, China. Earth Sci Inform 14, 415–428 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12145-020-00556-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12145-020-00556-4