Temperature changes of the Mid-Late Holocene transition in North China and their implications for regional cultural succession

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Evaluating the influence of temperature on cultural successions in North China during the Mid-Late Holocene transition (MLHT) is a significant research problem. We used a lacustrine sedimentary profile (BG-2019) from Lake Baiyangdian, in the hinterland of the North China Plain, to quantitatively reconstruct temperature changes during the MLHT, using branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs). We then integrated this record with selected quantitative paleotemperature records from North China to explore the effects of temperature change on the evolution of Neolithic cultures in this region. The results show that the mean annual temperature (MAT) in the hinterland of the North China Plain during the MLHT averaged ∼15.7 °C (∼3.6 °C higher than today); and that three significant cooling events occurred (the 5.3 ka event, 4.8 ka event, and 4.2 ka event), at ∼5300-5100 cal yr BP, 4800 cal yr BP, and ∼4500-4300 cal yr BP, respectively, with cooling between −2.1 °C and −3.4 °C. Integration of our results with other regional quantitative paleotemperature records shows that these three cooling events are well documented in North China, with spatial consistency in their magnitude and onset of cooling. These cooling events are temporally correlated to two cultural transitions in North China: the cooling event at ∼5300-4800 cal yr BP corresponds to the decline of the Yangshao culture in the Central Plains region, and the decline of the Hongshan culture in the Yanliao region, which evolved into the Xiaoheyan culture. Additionally, we suggest that the cooling event at ∼5300-4800 cal yr BP, combined with the weakening of the summer monsoon, contributed to the end of the Yangshao culture and the rise of the Longshan culture in the Central Plains region, and that it accelerated the end of the Xiaoheyan culture and the rise of the Xiajiadian Lower Culture in the Yanliao region.