et al. # a comprehensive database of paleoclimate records is needed to place recent warming into the longer-term context of natural climate variability. We present a global compilation of quality-controlled, published, temperature-sensitive proxy records extending back 12,000 years through the Holocene. Data were compiled from 679 sites where time series cover at least 4000 years, are resolved at sub-millennial scale (median spacing of 400 years or finer) and have at least one age control point every 3000 years, with cutoff values slackened in datasparse regions. The data derive from lake sediment (51%), marine sediment (31%), peat (11%), glacier ice (3%), and other natural archives. The database contains 1319 records, including 157 from the Southern Hemisphere. the multi-proxy database comprises paleotemperature time series based on ecological assemblages, as well as biophysical and geochemical indicators that reflect mean annual or seasonal temperatures, as encoded in the database. This database can be used to reconstruct the spatiotemporal evolution of Holocene temperature at global to regional scales, and is publicly available in Linked Paleo Data (LiPD) format.
Yangguanzhai, a Middle Neolithic archaeological site (c. 5500–5000 cal year BP) in the Wei River Valley of China, contains a well‐preserved record of environmental fluctuation, landscape evolution, and human–environment interaction over the Holocene. We examined eight stratigraphic profiles across the site and identified an alternating sequence of sediment and buried soils, indicative of multiple changes in landscape stability. Through this study, we provide a more detailed soil‐stratigraphic framework for the site. Buried soils are well developed, with a subangular blocky structure, high organic matter content, and pedogenic carbonate. There are clear associations between buried soils and the two main archaeological occupations (the Middle Neolithic and a later historic period occupation, c. 600–300 cal year BP). Lower soil horizons contain abundant Middle Neolithic ceramics and archaeological features, and the upper soil horizon contains historic period artifacts and features. Sediment between these soils lacks any artifacts or evidence of occupation, suggesting that Yangguanzhai was abandoned as a residential area for over 3000 years. Heightened sediment deposition and landscape instability contributed to Late Holocene shifts in human land use and settlement patterns at the site. Our work is consistent with previous stratigraphic investigations at the site, while refining descriptions of buried soil horizons.
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