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A regional aridity phase and its possible cultural impact during the Holocene Megathermal in the Guanzhong Basin, China

Department of Geography, Box 99, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710062, PR China; Xi'an Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Chinese Academy, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710054, PR China; Department of Geography, University of California, Los Angeles, Bunche Hall, 405 Hilgard Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90095–1524, USA

Jie Zhou

Xi'an Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Chinese Academy, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710054, PR China

Jiangli Pang

Yuping Han

Chunhong Hou

Department of Geography, Box 99, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710062, PR China

Evidence of climatic variations and the impact of past farming was identified in a Holocene loess profile near Xi'an in the Guanzhong Basin, China. Detailed studies of the profile indicate that crop cultivation began at 7000 yr BP in the Neolithic and carried on to present in the area. Disturbance of the profile by cultivation has not masked evidence of changes in aeolian dust deposition and bio-pedogenic processes caused by climatic variations. Increased dust deposition indicates that a remarkable aridity phase occurred from 6000 to 5000 yr BP during the Holocene Megathermal (8500–3000 yr BP). The aridity and intensified aeolian dust deposition interrupted the formation of the brown soil developing under a warm-humid subtropical climate during the Megathermal. The palaeosol S₀, normally associated with the Megathermal period, is thus separated into two distinct soils, namely S₀ ¹ and S₀ ². This variability in Megathermal climate may have been widespread across northwestern China. It is also possible that the marked decline in Neolithic culture in the periods of the middle and late Yangshao Culture (6000–5000 yr BP) in the Guanzhong Basin can be attributed to the climatic aridity at the time.

Key Words: Loess • climatic aridity • Neolithic cultural decline • Holocene Megathermal • Guanzhong Basin • China

The Holocene, Vol. 10, No. 1, 135-142 (2000)
DOI: 10.1191/095968300673103181


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