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Based on archaeological surveys of Neolithic cultural development and GIS spatial analysis, this study reproduced the main characteristics of temporal distribution and settlement selection of the sites from the Neolithic Age in Anhui and identified a relationship between environmental evolution and human activity. The results show that altitude, slope direction, and slope gradient were consistent among the settlements at different stages of the Neolithic Age in Anhui, and the sites were mostly distributed in hilly and plain areas on southeast-or south-facing slopes of low gradients close to rivers. We determined that early Neolithic Age (9.0-7.0 ka BP) sites were scattered in small numbers and likely had little cultural exchange with communities of other provinces. The environmental characteristics of various regions in Anhui indicated that the climate was warm and humid with extensive water distribution. The sites of the mid Neolithic Age (7.0-5.0 ka BP) increased rapidly with wide distribution. They were mainly distributed in the plain area north of the Huaihe River and the southwestern areas of Anhui. In the mid Neolithic Age, the warm and humid climate gradually dried, and our ancestors slowly developed cultural exchanges. The largest number of sites existed during the late Neolithic Age (5.0-4.0 ka BP), and were distributed throughout the province. During this period, the overall climate was relatively dry, but humans could still obtain water and other resources through migration. The relatively benign climate facilitated cultural interaction and exchange, which increased during this time, and the Wanjiang culture

Knowledge of the hydroclimatic changes in Southwest China since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) is crucial for disentangling the long-term evolution of the Asia Monsoon and predicting the future fate of the mountain peat deposit in the Asia Monsoon region. In this study, we obtained a 530-cm-long peat core from the Ganchi wetland in Southwest China and analyzed its geochemical indices, including total nitrogen (TN), total organic carbon (TOC), stable carbon isotope composition of organics (δ13Corg), and the concentration of several major elements, to investigate the sedimentary and hydroclimate evolution since the LGM. We found that the peat strata in the Ganchi wetland have developed gradually from 13.7 cal kyr BP, which is likely ascribed to the warm climate during the Bølling-Allerød (B/A) period. TOC, δ13Corg, K/Ti, and Fe/Mn records showed notable paleoclimate shifts since the last deglaciation. The first warming period after the LGM was observed starting at 18.2 cal kyr BP, which is consistent with other records from Southwest China. The reconstruction results show that the western margin of the Sichuan Basin during the last deglaciation was most affected by the East Asia summer monsoon (EASM), and less affected by the Indian summer monsoon (ISM). The climate of the early Holocene (11.2–7.5 cal kyr BP) was affected by both the ISM and EASM, resulting in more complex local climatic features. The Holocene Megathermal period observed from 7.5 to 3.5 cal kyr BP, is consistent with the timing detected in other records of Southwest China.

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