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In-site pollen record from the Dadiwan archaeological site and the human-environment relationship during Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 3

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 September 2018

Wei Peng ,
Xiaozhong Huang ,
Dongju Zhang ,
Michael J. Storozum  and
Fahu Chen
Wei Peng
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems, Ministry of Education, College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou Gansu 730000, China
Xiaozhong Huang*
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems, Ministry of Education, College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou Gansu 730000, China
Dongju Zhang
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems, Ministry of Education, College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou Gansu 730000, China
Michael J. Storozum
Affiliation:
Earth Observatory of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Ave, Block N2-01a-15, Singapore 639798
Fahu Chen
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems, Ministry of Education, College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou Gansu 730000, China Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 16 Lincui Road, Chaoyang, Beijing 100101, China
*
*Corresponding author at: Ministry of Education (MOE) Key Laboratory of Western China’s Environmental Systems, College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, South Tianshui Road 222, Lanzhou Gansu, China 730000. E-mail address: xzhuang@lzu.edu.cn (X. Huang).
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Abstract

Climatic change that affects biological productivity is often argued to be a primary force influencing human activities during the glacial period. To test this assumption, we combine in-site pollen, paleoclimatic, and archaeological data from the Dadiwan site and nearby areas on the western Loess Plateau (WLP) that date to Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage (MIS) 3. Our comparison of multiple datasets suggests that regional human activities increased when the vegetation around the Dadiwan area shifted from forest steppe in the early MIS 3 (59–46.7 ka) to steppe in the middle to late MIS 3 (46.7–29.5 ka). Our results indicate that regional human activities increased again during the late MIS 3 when the amount of precipitation was higher, as indicated by the lower Artemisia proportion. We suggest that increased precipitation on the WLP enhanced the above-ground biomass production and may be responsible for an increase in human activity and population in this region.

Keywords

Pollen analysisDadiwan archaeological siteHunter-gatherersMarine Oxygen Isotope Stage 3

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 91 , Issue 1 , January 2019 , pp. 289 - 300
Copyright
Copyright © University of Washington. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2018 

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