Mid-Holocene palaeoflood events recorded at the Zhongqiao Neolithic cultural site in the Jianghan Plain, middle Yangtze River Valley, China

• Published in: Quaternary science reviews Vol. 173; pp. 145 - 160
• Main Authors: Wu, Li, Zhu, Cheng, Ma, Chunmei, Li, Feng, Meng, Huaping, Liu, Hui, Li, Linying, Wang, Xiaocui, Sun, Wei, Song, Yougui
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2017
• Subjects: Climatic event; Jianghan Plain; Mid-Holocene; Neolithic Site; Palaeoflood; Yangtze River; Jianghan Plain; Mid-Holocene; Palaeoflood; Neolithic Site; Climatic event; Yangtze River
• ISSN: 0277-3791; 1873-457X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2017.08.018

Palaeo-hydrological and archaeological investigations were carried out in the Jianghan Plain in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Based on a comparative analysis of modern flood sediments and multidisciplinary approaches such as AMS14C and archaeological dating, zircon micromorphology, grain size, magnetic susceptibility, and geochemistry, we identified palaeoflood sediments preserved at the Zhongqiao archaeological site. The results indicate that three palaeoflood events (i.e. 4800–4597, 4479–4367, and 4168-3850 cal. yr BP) occurred at the Zhongqiao Site. Comparisons of palaeoflood deposit layers at a number of Neolithic cultural sites show that two extraordinary palaeoflood events occurred in the Jianghan Plain during approximately 4900–4600 cal. yr BP (i.e.mid-late Qujialing cultural period) and 4100-3800 cal. yr BP (i.e. from late Shijiahe cultural period to the Xia Dynasty). Further analysis of the environmental context suggests that these flooding events might have been connected with great climate variability during approximately 5000–4500 cal. yr BP and at ca. 4000 cal. yr BP. These two palaeoflood events were closely related to the expansion of the Jianghan lakes driven by the climatic change, which in turn influenced the rise and fall of the Neolithic cultures in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Other evidence also suggests that the intensified discrepancy between social development and environmental change processes (especially the hydrological process) during the late Shijiahe cultural period might be the key factor causing the collapse of the Shijiahe Culture. The extraordinary floods related to the climatic anomaly at ca. 4000 cal. yr BP and political conflicts from internal or other cultural areas all accelerated the collapse of the Shijiahe Culture. •Anomalous floods occurred on the Jianghan Plain during 4900–4600 and 4100–3800 cal. yr BP.•There was large climate variability during 5000–4500 and ca 4000 cal. yr BP in Central China.•Palaeofloods related to the 4.2 ka event accelerated the collapse of the Shijiahe Culture.•Palaeoflood deposits can be identified by zircon micromorphology, grain size, etc.