Inundation, sea-level rise and transition from Neolithic to Bronze Age cultures, Yangtze Delta, China

Abstract

Petrological, fauna] and floral infomiation derived from a new drill core taken in the Yangtze delta, coupled with data from borings recovered earlier, record a marked transition to wanner, wetter conditions which resulted in widespread inundation of the delta about 4000 years ago. Also identified for that time on the delta plain is a m;\jor discontinuity between the Neolithic Liangzhu and Bronze age Maqiao cultures. The cultural discontinuity is indicated by: (1) absence of in HUU material between the two at -4000 yc B.P.; (2) missing Maqiao material in strata above many Liangzhu sites; (3) less sophisticated Maqiao material than in the older Neolithic phase; and (4) notably fewer Maqiao sites in more restricted areas of the delta plain. It is of note that the change from the Liangzhu to the younger Maqiao does not show an increasingly complex cultural advancement of the type generally associated with the foundation of Chinese civilization. We propose that this cultural discontinuity w;is caused by the interplay of increased environmental stress and new population migrations into the delta.

Radiocarbon anomalies suggest late onset of agricultural intensification in the catchment of the southern part of the Yangtze Delta, China

“…The existence of this long process is exemplified by the contrast in archaeological remains between the Liangzhu and the Maqiao culture that followed the Liangzhu. The Maqiao was a less developed culture than the Liangzhu, with less advanced crafts, higher reliance on hunting and gathering as a subsistence strategy, and fewer settlement remains (Stanley et al, 1999), indicating that development of civilisation (and agriculture) in the Lower Yangtze was not a linear process and was perhaps characterised by at least one episode of progress followed by setback.…”

“…3,810-3,010 cal. BP) (Stanley et al, 1999;Long and Taylor, 2015). Compared with the earlier Liangzhu and the contemporary Shang Dynasty civilisation (ca.…”

Non-linear regime shifts in Holocene Asian monsoon variability: potential impacts on cultural change and migratory patterns

“…4.0 ka BP by the less developed Yueshi culture. In the lower Yangtze River valley (Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces), the Liangzhu culture (5.3-4.2 ka BP) collapsed after about 4.3 ka BP (Stanley et al, 1999;Yu et al, 2000;Li et al, 2010). In a similar way, the Shijiahe culture (4.6-4.2 ka BP) in the middle Yangtze River valley (Liangzhu area of Hubei and Hunan provinces) declined and finally vanished between about 4.2 and 4.0 ka BP (Wu and Liu, 2004;Li et al, 2010;Yasuda et al, 2004).…”

Holocene-aged sedimentary records of environmental changes and early agriculture in the lower Yangtze, China

“…Rapidly rising RSL during the earlyto-mid Holocene, possibly surpassing current height according to simulations of a geophysical model, together with a dense network of channels and tidal creeks (Yan and Huang, 1987;Li et al, 2002), higher monsoonal rainfall, the occasional typhoon and tidal surge and relatively low levels of sediment accretion because of a largely forested catchment would have led to the frequent inundation of low-lying parts of the delta plain (Hori et al, 2002). In addition to a temporal trend of improved technologies, increased agricultural production and pronounced social stratification (Chang, 1986;Shao, 2005;Cao et al, 2006), Neolithic settlements on the delta are characterised by alterations in their pattern of distribution (Stanley and Chen, 1996;Stanley et al, 1999;Yu et al, 2000), and presumably this dynamism in settlement pattern was in part because of rising water tables and an increased risk of flooding Zong, 2004). Increased frequency and severity of flooding could have disrupted settlement and food production at Guangfulin ca 2400 BP, and frequent flooding by brackish water from around the same time may explain a continued importance of wild rice around Qingpu (and quite possibly around the other sites too).…”