eprintid: 10161215 rev_number: 7 eprint_status: archive userid: 699 dir: disk0/10/16/12/15 datestamp: 2022-12-01 10:49:52 lastmod: 2022-12-01 10:49:52 status_changed: 2022-12-01 10:49:52 type: article metadata_visibility: show sword_depositor: 699 creators_name: Zhao, Chengshuangping creators_name: Mo, Duowen creators_name: Yuxiang, Jin creators_name: Lu, Peng creators_name: Bin, Liu creators_name: Wang, Ningyuan creators_name: Chen, Minghui creators_name: Liao, Yinan creators_name: Zhan, Peng creators_name: Zhuang, Yijie title: A 7000-year record of environmental change: Evolution of Holocene environment and human activities in the Hangjiahu Plain, the lower Yangtze, China ispublished: inpress divisions: UCL divisions: B03 divisions: C03 divisions: F31 divisions: K74 keywords: geoarchaeology, geomorphic evolution, Holocene, human activities, lower Yangtze River note: Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Geoarchaeology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. abstract: The Hangjiahu Plain in the lower Yangtze is one of the core areas that sustained the flourishment of the Liangzhu Civilization. This study reconstructed Holocene environmental change on the Hangjiahu Plain based on a sediment core collected from the Tangqi ZK-3 location situated on the low-lying Hangzhou-Taihu region of the Yangtze Delta. We applied OSL dating, grain size analysis, pollen analysis, and magnetic susceptibility to reconstruct Holocene environmental change and compared our data with other published results. Our results showed that (i) before ~7.0 ka B.P., the ZK-3 core recorded a strong hydrodynamic force, resulting in the widespread deposition of light grayish silt clay or clayey silt in the region. The climate was warm and humid, and the vegetation was mixed evergreen deciduous coniferous forest. (ii) Between 7.0 and 6.0 ka B.P., the hydrodynamic condition in ZK-3 core became weaker, and the climate remained warm and humid. Although most of the Hangjiahu Plain were still covered by the light grayish silt clay or clayey silt, some higher grounds began to emerge as sea-level rise slowed, which coincided with the development of the Majiabang culture. (iii) Between 6.0 and 4.5 ka B.P., the deposition of yellowish silty clay indicates a shallow-water hydrological environment at ZK-3, as the regional water level was dropping while more land was emerging, which provided a favorable physical environment for the prosperity of the Songze and Liangzhu cultures. The period experienced a drier and cooler climate, with evidence of deforestation. (iv) Between 4.5 and 3.0 ka B.P., the sediments in the ZK-3 core were dominated by light grayish clay, indicative of a return to a deep-water environment with a prolonged waterlogging condition. The climate remained dry and cool with further deforestation. However, the widely distributed yellowish silt clay suggests frequent floods in the region, resulting in a sharp reduction of settlement sites and the eventual decline of the Liangzhu Civilization. date: 2022-11-12 date_type: published publisher: WILEY official_url: https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.21945 oa_status: green full_text_type: pub language: eng primo: open primo_central: open_green verified: verified_manual elements_id: 1992787 doi: 10.1002/gea.21945 lyricists_name: Zhuang, Yijie lyricists_id: YZHUA60 actors_name: Allington-Smith, Dominic actors_id: DAALL44 actors_role: owner funding_acknowledgements: [Zhejiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology Project]; 2020YFC1521605 [National Key R&D Program of China]; [Archaeology in China Project]; [Liangzhu Site and Hangjiahu Plain Environmental Archaeological Research] full_text_status: public publication: Geoarchaeology pages: 16 issn: 0883-6353 citation: Zhao, Chengshuangping; Mo, Duowen; Yuxiang, Jin; Lu, Peng; Bin, Liu; Wang, Ningyuan; Chen, Minghui; ... Zhuang, Yijie; + view all <#> Zhao, Chengshuangping; Mo, Duowen; Yuxiang, Jin; Lu, Peng; Bin, Liu; Wang, Ningyuan; Chen, Minghui; Liao, Yinan; Zhan, Peng; Zhuang, Yijie; - view fewer <#> (2022) A 7000-year record of environmental change: Evolution of Holocene environment and human activities in the Hangjiahu Plain, the lower Yangtze, China. Geoarchaeology 10.1002/gea.21945 <https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.21945>. (In press). Green open access document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10161215/1/Zhuang_Geoarchaeology%20-%202022%20-%20Zhao%20-%20A%207000year%20record%20of%20environmental%20change.pdf