Early Settlement and Environmental Dataset for the Jianghan-Dongting Basin (8.5–2.7 ka BP)

This dataset contains geospatial data used to analyze early settlement patterns and their environmental contexts in the Jianghan-Dongting Basin (middle Yangtze River region) from 8.5 to 2.7 ka BP. It includes: 1. Settlements in the Jianghan-Dongting Basin.zip A comprehensive geospatial dataset of early settlement sites in the Jianghan-Dongting Basin, including attributes such as period, location, and area. 2. MaxEnt Settlement Points by Period.zip Six files of settlement points categorized by archaeological period (Early Neolithic to Western Zhou), prepared for use in MaxEnt modeling. Settlement points have been weighted according to site area, with duplication based on standardized area values to reflect their relative influence. 3. MaxEnt Environmental Variables.zip Raster layers of environmental variables used to evaluate environmental contributions to settlement distribution. 4. MaxEnt Bias Layer.zip A kernel density raster surface derived from all known settlement locations, used as a bias layer in MaxEnt to account for uneven archaeological sampling effort. The dataset supports the study of spatial complexity and hydrological adaptation of early settlements using presence-only modeling approaches. It can be used to replicate or extend the MaxEnt analyses conducted in the associated research.