Environmental changes influencing middle and late Pleistocene hominin survival in Northeast China: Multi-Proxy evidence from Huadian Paleolithic cave

Abstract

Investigating the relationship between hominin activities and environmental conditions is essential for understanding the survival and development of hominin societies. However, the influence of Middle to Late Pleistocene environmental changes on the survival of hominins and their migration patterns in Northeast China remains poorly understood. This study is the first to examine the sedimentary sequence of Huadian Paleolithic cave to explore the paleoenvironmental dynamics in which humans lived during the Middle to Late Pleistocene. We employed analyses of phytoliths, grain size, total organic carbon (TOC), and stable carbon isotope composition (δ¹³C) to reconstruct the hominin habitat around Huadian cave and to investigate further the impact of environmental changes on human settlement preferences. Our findings suggest that the environment around Huadian cave exhibited a gradual cooling trend from the Middle to Late Pleistocene, with C3 plants dominating the surrounding region. During the Middle Pleistocene, the environment transitioned from relatively warm and humid to cold and dry, leading to an increase in woody plants, particularly coniferous forests. During the Late Pleistocene, the environment initially warmed before experiencing an abrupt cooling trend, resulting in an increased proportion of C3 herbaceous plants. The cave’s internal living conditions steadily improved, fostering increased hominin activities since the Middle to Late Pleistocene. By comparing our results with archaeological evidence from Huadian cave and distribution of Paleolithic sites in Northeast China, it is evident that hominins replaced wild animals in Huadian cave, transforming it into a temporary refuge in the Middle Pleistocene, coinciding with slight hominin dispersal across Northeast China. In the Late Pleistocene, owing to its dry summer and wet winter conditions providing an ideal environment for hominin habitation, the number of archaeological sites in the region increased significantly, as hominins began migrating from caves to open wilderness sites while Huadian cave became a long-term refuge.