Late Neolithic phytolith and charcoal records of human activities and vegetation change in Shijiahe culture, Tanjialing site, China

There is significant archaeological evidence marking the collapse of the Shijiahe culture in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River in China during the late Neolithic Period. However, the causes for this cultural collapse remain unclear. Our sedimentary records from a 3.3 m long profile and 76 phytolith and charcoal samples from the Tanjialing archaeological sites provide records of interactions between an ancient culture and vegetation change. During the early Shijiahe culture (c, 4850-4400 cal BP), the climate was warm and humid. Fire was intensively used to clear the vegetation. In the mid-period of the Shijiahe culture (c, 4400-4200 cal BP), the climate became slightly dry-cold and this was accompanied by decreasing water, leading to settlements. From c, 4200 cal BP, severe drought eroded the economic foundation of rice-cultivation. These conditions forced people to abandon the Shijiahe ancient city to find water in other regions, leading to the collapse of the Shijiahe culture.

中国长江中游新石器时代晚期石家河文化的衰落存在显著考古证据，但该文化崩溃的原因仍不明确。我们从谭家岭遗址3.3米长剖面获取的沉积记录，以及76份植硅体（phytolith）与木炭样本，为探究古代文化与植被变化的相互作用提供了线索。石家河文化早期（约4850-4400 cal BP，校正年代，calibrated Before Present），气候温暖湿润，人类频繁用火清理植被；中期（约4400-4200 cal BP），气候略趋干冷，伴随水资源减少，促使人类定居；约4200 cal BP起，严重干旱侵蚀了稻作农业的经济基础，迫使人们放弃石家河古城，前往其他地区寻找水源，最终导致该文化衰落。