Role of climate in the rise and fall of Neolithic cultures on the Yangtze Delta

Abstract

Climatic changes in the Yangtze Delta have played an important role in the emergence, persistence and collapse of civilization. Archaeological excavations in the region over many years have demonstrated that there are several layers of fine sand or organic mud that interrupt the consecutive culture strata in a number of Neolithic culture sites. Continuous biostratigraphical and sedimentological records from the Maqiao cultural site, Shanghai, suggest that the fine sand and organic mud units resulted from expansion of water bodies both by sea‐level fluctuations and from increased flooding during cold and humid episodes of Holocene climates. The absence of human settlement from 7240 BP to 5320 BP in the region was mainly caused by higher sea levels resulting from a warm and humid climate. The Neolithic cultures developed under conditions of lower and more stable sea level as well as warmer and dryer climates between about 4410 BP and 3250 BP. A flood‐induced lake expansion interrupted the civilization in the region at about 4200 BP. Later, higher water tables and expansion of lakes between 3250 BP and AD 618 under a cold and moist climate temporarily terminated settlement on the delta. Later, during the Tang Dynasty, beginning at about AD 618, the region again became suitable for human settlement under conditions of more favourable climate and lower water tables.