Zhao, Chengshuangping;
Mo, Duowen;
Yuxiang, Jin;
Lu, Peng;
Bin, Liu;
Wang, Ningyuan;
Chen, Minghui;
... Zhuang, Yijie; + view all
(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.
(In press).
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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.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | A 7000-year record of environmental change: Evolution of Holocene environment and human activities in the Hangjiahu Plain, the lower Yangtze, China |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1002/gea.21945 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.21945 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | 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. |
| Keywords: | geoarchaeology, geomorphic evolution, Holocene, human activities, lower Yangtze River |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Institute of Archaeology UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Institute of Archaeology > Institute of Archaeology Gordon Square |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10161215 |
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