Past rainfall-driven erosion on the Chinese loess plateau inferred from archaeological evidence from Wucheng City, Shanxi

Abstract

The history of changes in the Earth’s surface can be investigated by numerical modelling of landform evolution. However, such models rely on evidence which is often removed through erosion or other surface processes. Here, we use archaeological observations from the remains of Wucheng City in Shanxi, China, which was built on a loess area during the Neolithic period, to reconstruct the paleo-surface of the area and inform a landform evolution model. We identify differences between the present-day and paleo-land surface which suggest the topography was previously much less rugged. We find that period of heightened erosion rate in the early Holocene coincides with the period of increased rainfall, suggesting climate was the primary control on landform evolution during this time. We conclude that paleo-surface observations taken from archaeological sites, as demonstrated by this study, are valuable tools to inform landform evolution models in other regions where evidence is limited.