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1、www.ylongedu.com 新托福TPO20阅读原文(二)：EarlySettlementsintheSouthwestAsiaTPO20-2：EarlySettlementsintheSouthwestAsia TheuniversalglobalwarmingattheendoftheIceAgehaddramaticeffectsontemperateregionsofAsia,Europe,andNorthAmerica.Icesheetsretreatedandsealevelsrose.TheclimaticchangesinsouthwesternAsiaweremor
2、esubtle,inthattheyinvolvedshiftsinmountainsnowlines,rainfallpatterns,andvegetationcover.However,thesesamecyclesofchangehadmomentousimpactsonthesparsehumanpopulationsoftheregion.AttheendoftheIceAge,nomorethanafewthousandforagerslivedalongtheeasternMediterraneancoast,intheJordanandEuphratesvalleys.Wi
3、thin2,000years,thehumanpopulationoftheregionnumberedinthetensofthousands,allasaresultofvillagelifeandfarming.Thankstonewenvironmentalandarchaeologicaldiscoveries,wenowknowsomethingaboutthisremarkablechangeinlocallife. PollensamplesfromfreshwaterlakesinSyriaandelsewheretellusforestcoverexpandedrapi
4、dlyattheendoftheIceAge,forthesouthwesternAsianclimatewasstillcoolerandconsiderablywetterthantoday.Manyareaswerericherinanimalandplantspeciesthantheyarenow,makingthemhighlyfavorableforhumanoccupation.About9000B.C.,mosthumansettlementslayintheareaalongtheMediterraneancoastandintheZagrosMountainsofIra
5、nandtheirfoothills.Somelocalareas,liketheJordanRivervalley,themiddleEuphratesvalley,andsomeZagrosvalleys,weremoredenselypopulatedthanelsewhere.Heremoresedentaryandmorecomplexsocietiesflourished.Thesepeopleexploitedthelandscapeintensively,foragingonhillslopesforwildcerealgrassesandnuts,whilehuntingg
6、azelleandothergameongrassylowlandsandinrivervalleys.Theirsettlementscontainexoticobjectssuchasseashells,stonebowls,andartifactsmadeofobsidian(volcanicglass),alltradedfromafar.Thisconsiderablevolumeofintercommunityexchangebroughtadegreeofsocialcomplexityinitswake. Thankstoextremelyfine-grainedexcav
7、ationandextensiveuseofflotationmethods(throughwhichseedsarerecoveredfromsoilsamples),weknowagreatdealwww.ylongedu.comabouttheforagingpracticesoftheinhabitantsofAbuHureyrainSyria'sEuphratesvalley.AbuHureyraw
