Pub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-12-03DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109716
Meilun Zhang , Martín Medina-Elizalde , Stephen Burns , Josué Polanco-Martinez , Ambarish Karmalkar , David McGee , Hsun-Ming Hu , Chuan-Chou Shen
We present the oldest speleothem isotope record from Central America and the Caribbean, a high-resolution stalagmite (“Katún”) spanning discontinuously ∼198–322 ka BP, that documents hydroclimate variability across glacial–interglacial and millennial timescales. Katún δ18O covaries significantly with atmospheric CO2 and CH4, and multivariate analyses show that CO2 + CH4 together explain more variance in δ18O than either gas alone. Consistent with a CO2-mediated SST mechanism, Katún δ18O correlates with tropical Atlantic and eastern Pacific SST reconstructions, indicating that radiative forcing influenced Caribbean precipitation primarily through tropical surface warming. At millennial scales, Katún δ18O tracks North Atlantic variability: it aligns with CH4 peaks associated with Greenland D–O cycles and with detrital proxies of Heinrich-type ice-rafting, implicating AMOC-paced ITCZ shifts and SST-driven convection as key controls. A weak Katún–Cariaco Mo relationship highlights proxy sensitivities and argues against ITCZ migration as the sole driver. In contrast to Asian monsoon archives, Katún shows little precessional insolation imprint, emphasizing the dominance of internal ocean–atmosphere dynamics (AMOC, SSTs) in regulating Caribbean hydroclimate and modulating tropical wetland methane emissions during MIS 7–9.
{"title":"Linkages between Caribbean hydroclimate, atmospheric CO2, and methane production on orbital to millennial timescales","authors":"Meilun Zhang , Martín Medina-Elizalde , Stephen Burns , Josué Polanco-Martinez , Ambarish Karmalkar , David McGee , Hsun-Ming Hu , Chuan-Chou Shen","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109716","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109716","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We present the oldest speleothem isotope record from Central America and the Caribbean, a high-resolution stalagmite (“Katún”) spanning discontinuously ∼198–322 ka BP, that documents hydroclimate variability across glacial–interglacial and millennial timescales. Katún δ<sup>18</sup>O covaries significantly with atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> and CH<sub>4</sub>, and multivariate analyses show that CO<sub>2</sub> + CH<sub>4</sub> together explain more variance in δ<sup>18</sup>O than either gas alone. Consistent with a CO<sub>2</sub>-mediated SST mechanism, Katún δ<sup>18</sup>O correlates with tropical Atlantic and eastern Pacific SST reconstructions, indicating that radiative forcing influenced Caribbean precipitation primarily through tropical surface warming. At millennial scales, Katún δ<sup>18</sup>O tracks North Atlantic variability: it aligns with CH<sub>4</sub> peaks associated with Greenland D–O cycles and with detrital proxies of Heinrich-type ice-rafting, implicating AMOC-paced ITCZ shifts and SST-driven convection as key controls. A weak Katún–Cariaco Mo relationship highlights proxy sensitivities and argues against ITCZ migration as the sole driver. In contrast to Asian monsoon archives, Katún shows little precessional insolation imprint, emphasizing the dominance of internal ocean–atmosphere dynamics (AMOC, SSTs) in regulating Caribbean hydroclimate and modulating tropical wetland methane emissions during MIS 7–9.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"373 ","pages":"Article 109716"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145692729","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-12-08DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109725
Meng Zhang, Dan Lawrence, Andrew R. Millard
This paper examines changing subsistence practices from the Neolithic to the Early Han Dynasty across diverse cultural regions of China. Using a large corpus of stable isotopic data from the literature (N human = 3492; N animal = 2919), we trace spatial and temporal shifts in staple crop use and livestock management. Isotopic evidence reveals marked regional variation in crop-livestock integration from the Neolithic through the Bronze Age. During the Early and Middle Neolithic, isotopic evidence indicates pig husbandry based on the C4-plant millet was primarily confined to the Middle Yellow River region, contrasting with an extensive pig management system in the West Liao River and Shandong regions predominantly based on C3-plants. From ∼5.5 ka BP, millet agriculture and pig husbandry diffused into the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Hexi Corridor, and western Sichuan. Despite the rapid and widespread adoption of millet agriculture in these agriculturally marginal zones, the overall utilization of pigs and the exploitation of millet-based pig feeding practices remained restricted, especially during the Bronze Age. After 5 ka BP, the introduction of non-native domesticates—such as sheep, goats, cattle, wheat, and barley—gave rise to two distinct agropastoral trajectories between the core agricultural zones and peripheral regions of northern China. In the Middle Yellow River region, an intensive agricultural system based on millet cultivation and pig husbandry persisted, with cattle and sheep rapidly integrated into existing fodder regimes but remaining supplementary to the dominant economy. By contrast, the arid northwestern regions underwent a significant shift toward a mixed agropastoral economy centered on C3 crops (e.g., wheat and barley) and ruminant livestock, particularly sheep/goat. These regional differences highlight how local ecologies and resource availability shaped flexible but regionally distinct trajectories of crop and livestock integration in prehistoric northern China.
本文考察了中国不同文化区域从新石器时代到汉初的生存方式变化。利用文献中的大量稳定同位素数据（N人= 3492；N动物= 2919），我们追踪了主要作物利用和牲畜管理的时空变化。同位素证据显示，从新石器时代到青铜时代，作物-牲畜融合的区域差异显著。在新石器时代早期和中期，同位素证据表明，以c4植物谷子为基础的养猪业主要局限于黄河中游地区，与以c3植物为主要基础的西辽河和山东地区广泛的养猪管理系统形成对比。从~ 5.5 ka BP开始，谷子农业和养猪业扩散到青藏高原东部、河西走廊和四川西部。尽管在这些农业边缘地区迅速而广泛地采用了谷子农业，但猪的总体利用和以谷子为基础的猪饲养方法的开发仍然受到限制，特别是在青铜时代。5 ka BP之后，非本地驯化动物（如绵羊、山羊、牛、小麦和大麦）的引入，在中国北方的核心农业区和外围地区之间形成了两条截然不同的农牧发展轨迹。在黄河中游地区，以谷子种植和养猪为基础的集约化农业体系持续存在，牛羊迅速融入现有的饲料体系，但仍是主导经济的补充。相比之下，干旱的西北地区经历了向以C3作物（如小麦和大麦）和反刍牲畜（特别是绵羊/山羊）为中心的混合农牧经济的重大转变。这些区域差异突出了当地生态和资源可获得性如何塑造了史前中国北方作物和牲畜整合的灵活但区域不同的轨迹。
{"title":"Isotopic evidence for changing diet and agriculture in China from the Neolithic to the Early Han period (10-2 ka BP)","authors":"Meng Zhang, Dan Lawrence, Andrew R. Millard","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109725","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109725","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper examines changing subsistence practices from the Neolithic to the Early Han Dynasty across diverse cultural regions of China. Using a large corpus of stable isotopic data from the literature (N <sub>human</sub> = 3492; N <sub>animal</sub> = 2919), we trace spatial and temporal shifts in staple crop use and livestock management. Isotopic evidence reveals marked regional variation in crop-livestock integration from the Neolithic through the Bronze Age. During the Early and Middle Neolithic, isotopic evidence indicates pig husbandry based on the C<sub>4</sub>-plant millet was primarily confined to the Middle Yellow River region, contrasting with an extensive pig management system in the West Liao River and Shandong regions predominantly based on C<sub>3</sub>-plants. From ∼5.5 ka BP, millet agriculture and pig husbandry diffused into the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Hexi Corridor, and western Sichuan. Despite the rapid and widespread adoption of millet agriculture in these agriculturally marginal zones, the overall utilization of pigs and the exploitation of millet-based pig feeding practices remained restricted, especially during the Bronze Age. After 5 ka BP, the introduction of non-native domesticates—such as sheep, goats, cattle, wheat, and barley—gave rise to two distinct agropastoral trajectories between the core agricultural zones and peripheral regions of northern China. In the Middle Yellow River region, an intensive agricultural system based on millet cultivation and pig husbandry persisted, with cattle and sheep rapidly integrated into existing fodder regimes but remaining supplementary to the dominant economy. By contrast, the arid northwestern regions underwent a significant shift toward a mixed agropastoral economy centered on C<sub>3</sub> crops (e.g., wheat and barley) and ruminant livestock, particularly sheep/goat. These regional differences highlight how local ecologies and resource availability shaped flexible but regionally distinct trajectories of crop and livestock integration in prehistoric northern China.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"373 ","pages":"Article 109725"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145748399","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The transition from Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 to MIS 4 was a major climatic shift that affected hominin biological and cultural evolution in eastern Eurasia. Marked by abrupt climatic shifts, this stage is characterized by notable diversification in hominin behavior. Technological and behavioral changes co-occurred with fluctuating ecological regimes, coinciding with the transition of millennial-scale climate events at the terminus of MIS 5, forcing hominins to develop new strategies to exploit their environment. Temporal multi-proxy-based climate and environmental reconstructions from the Donggou site in the Nihewan Basin of North China offer a high-resolution archive of climatic variation for this period, providing insights into its impact on hominin adaptive strategies. Luminescence dating indicates that the Donggou site was formed between 126.1 and 70.1 ka, and hominins occupied the site from 76 to 74ka. Our results suggest that the regional climate was colder and drier than today and underwent frequent climatic fluctuations that drove environmental and landscape changes. The Donggou hominins persisted in the initial arid phase. They continued to occupy the river floodplain landscape during the mild and moist Dansgaard-Oeschger event of late MIS 5a, before the climate deterioration of the MIS 4 episode. The Donggou archaeological data revealed flexible adaptive strategies, including the effective use of high-quality lithic raw materials, an increase in retouched tools, systematic exploitation of ungulates, and the use of fire. Other sites in the region exhibited different adaptive strategies, collectively indicating hominin behavioral diversification during this period. We suggest that climate oscillation during the MIS 5–4 transition may have promoted hominins to adjust their strategies and develop solutions to challenging environments, leading to increased behavioral flexibility and capabilities when facing landscape turnover from lakeshore to river floodplain habitats after the Nihewan Old Lake dies out.
{"title":"Climate change and hominin behavioral adaptations during the Marine Isotope Stage 5 to 4 transition: a case study from Donggou site, Nihewan Basin, North China","authors":"Jingyue Xu , Dongwei Niu , Shengrui Zhang , Yujie Guo , Xiaoli Li , Shuwen Pei","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109714","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109714","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The transition from Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 to MIS 4 was a major climatic shift that affected hominin biological and cultural evolution in eastern Eurasia. Marked by abrupt climatic shifts, this stage is characterized by notable diversification in hominin behavior. Technological and behavioral changes co-occurred with fluctuating ecological regimes, coinciding with the transition of millennial-scale climate events at the terminus of MIS 5, forcing hominins to develop new strategies to exploit their environment. Temporal multi-proxy-based climate and environmental reconstructions from the Donggou site in the Nihewan Basin of North China offer a high-resolution archive of climatic variation for this period, providing insights into its impact on hominin adaptive strategies. Luminescence dating indicates that the Donggou site was formed between 126.1 and 70.1 ka, and hominins occupied the site from 76 to 74ka. Our results suggest that the regional climate was colder and drier than today and underwent frequent climatic fluctuations that drove environmental and landscape changes. The Donggou hominins persisted in the initial arid phase. They continued to occupy the river floodplain landscape during the mild and moist Dansgaard-Oeschger event of late MIS 5a, before the climate deterioration of the MIS 4 episode. The Donggou archaeological data revealed flexible adaptive strategies, including the effective use of high-quality lithic raw materials, an increase in retouched tools, systematic exploitation of ungulates, and the use of fire. Other sites in the region exhibited different adaptive strategies, collectively indicating hominin behavioral diversification during this period. We suggest that climate oscillation during the MIS 5–4 transition may have promoted hominins to adjust their strategies and develop solutions to challenging environments, leading to increased behavioral flexibility and capabilities when facing landscape turnover from lakeshore to river floodplain habitats after the Nihewan Old Lake dies out.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"373 ","pages":"Article 109714"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145692730","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-12-07DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109746
Jiao Ma , Hervé Bocherens , Haowen Tong , Shuwen Pei , Xiujie Wu , Wu Liu
The late Middle Pleistocene (300–129 ka) was pivotal for understanding how paleoenvironmental and climatic changes shaped hominin adaptations. Hualongdong (331–275 ka) yields key human fossils, stone tools, and abundant mammalian remains, enabling detailed paleoecological analysis. Carbon isotopic data from mammalian tooth enamel indicate a C3 vegetation-dominated forest environment at Hualongdong. The isotopic composition of a large bovid indicates, however, the co-existence of year-round C4 grasses. Bulk and serial isotopic results reveal a mosaic of dense forests and woodlands shaped by the East Asian Summer Monsoon (EASM). Closed forests would have provided stable resources, while seasonally dynamic woodlands with localized C4 vegetation would have supported favorable conditions for habitation and movement. Comparative analyses of Middle Pleistocene enamel stable isotopes across eastern Asia (including East and Southeast Asia) highlight distinct paleoenvironments in northern, east-central, southwestern China, as well as in Southeast Asia. Hualongdong in east-central China stands out as a mosaic of dense forests and open woodlands, distinct from the open woodlands of north China and the dense forests of southwestern China. The Hualongdong hominins exhibit a mosaic of derived and archaic traits, representing a significant morphological pattern in the late Middle Pleistocene of eastern Asia. Their successful occupation of this ecotonal landscape as revealed by our isotopic data, underscores the behavioral flexibility that characterized hominin evolution in this region.
{"title":"Paleoenvironments of the late Middle Pleistocene Hualongdong, east-central China and their implications for the hominin evolution in eastern Asia","authors":"Jiao Ma , Hervé Bocherens , Haowen Tong , Shuwen Pei , Xiujie Wu , Wu Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109746","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109746","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The late Middle Pleistocene (300–129 ka) was pivotal for understanding how paleoenvironmental and climatic changes shaped hominin adaptations. Hualongdong (331–275 ka) yields key human fossils, stone tools, and abundant mammalian remains, enabling detailed paleoecological analysis. Carbon isotopic data from mammalian tooth enamel indicate a C<sub>3</sub> vegetation-dominated forest environment at Hualongdong. The isotopic composition of a large bovid indicates, however, the co-existence of year-round C<sub>4</sub> grasses. Bulk and serial isotopic results reveal a mosaic of dense forests and woodlands shaped by the East Asian Summer Monsoon (EASM). Closed forests would have provided stable resources, while seasonally dynamic woodlands with localized C<sub>4</sub> vegetation would have supported favorable conditions for habitation and movement. Comparative analyses of Middle Pleistocene enamel stable isotopes across eastern Asia (including East and Southeast Asia) highlight distinct paleoenvironments in northern, east-central, southwestern China, as well as in Southeast Asia. Hualongdong in east-central China stands out as a mosaic of dense forests and open woodlands, distinct from the open woodlands of north China and the dense forests of southwestern China. The Hualongdong hominins exhibit a mosaic of derived and archaic traits, representing a significant morphological pattern in the late Middle Pleistocene of eastern Asia. Their successful occupation of this ecotonal landscape as revealed by our isotopic data, underscores the behavioral flexibility that characterized hominin evolution in this region.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"373 ","pages":"Article 109746"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145748396","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-12-08DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109729
James Bakis , Dan Penny , Rebecca Hamilton , Quan Hua , Linda Barry , Patricia Gadd
Paleoenvironmental research in vulnerable high-elevation environments is skewed towards paleoecological analysis, biasing our understanding of broader systemic (i.e., both abiotic and biotic) environmental sensitivity. Moreover, paleorecords from mountains are overrepresented relative to adjacent highlands, which is problematic given the latter's greater agricultural value and thus more acute degradation. Here, we present a multiproxy, multisite assessment of regional paleoenvironmental change since 13,900 cal yr BP for the Monaro Tablelands of southeastern Australia, a highland terrain in the rain shadow of the Snowy Mountains. We find that, while regional hydrological change is effectively contemporaneous with temperature and hydroclimate, local dynamics appear to be equally influential on catchment moisture availability, implying only mild hydrological sensitivity to climate. Principal among these intrinsic controls is poor substrate permeability, which is responsible for a) late Holocene wetting signals despite climatic deterioration, and b) hysteresis in basin hydrology, whereby lakes and their ecological communities become increasingly resilient to moisture availability as permanence increases. Asymmetric sensitivity extends to catchment-scale rates of change, which observe a positive, albeit weak, correlation with drying over wetting. European-era rates of change are unprecedented for the entire study period, suggesting higher systemic sensitivity to land use than any major climatic perturbation since deglaciation. Continued biophysical deterioration is anticipated for the Monaro as land use impacts are augmented by projected warming, drying and increased rainfall variability across southeastern Australia, while changes in lake permanence are expected to be geographically bifurcated. These projections implicate adverse outcomes for endemic threatened ecological communities.
{"title":"Asymmetric sensitivity of lake catchments to climate and land use change on the Monaro Tablelands, southeastern Australia: A multiproxy, multisite synthesis of postglacial lacustrine records","authors":"James Bakis , Dan Penny , Rebecca Hamilton , Quan Hua , Linda Barry , Patricia Gadd","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109729","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109729","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Paleoenvironmental research in vulnerable high-elevation environments is skewed towards paleoecological analysis, biasing our understanding of broader systemic (i.e., both abiotic and biotic) environmental sensitivity. Moreover, paleorecords from mountains are overrepresented relative to adjacent highlands, which is problematic given the latter's greater agricultural value and thus more acute degradation. Here, we present a multiproxy, multisite assessment of regional paleoenvironmental change since 13,900 cal yr BP for the Monaro Tablelands of southeastern Australia, a highland terrain in the rain shadow of the Snowy Mountains. We find that, while regional hydrological change is effectively contemporaneous with temperature and hydroclimate, local dynamics appear to be equally influential on catchment moisture availability, implying only mild hydrological sensitivity to climate. Principal among these intrinsic controls is poor substrate permeability, which is responsible for a) late Holocene wetting signals despite climatic deterioration, and b) hysteresis in basin hydrology, whereby lakes and their ecological communities become increasingly resilient to moisture availability as permanence increases. Asymmetric sensitivity extends to catchment-scale rates of change, which observe a positive, albeit weak, correlation with drying over wetting. European-era rates of change are unprecedented for the entire study period, suggesting higher systemic sensitivity to land use than any major climatic perturbation since deglaciation. Continued biophysical deterioration is anticipated for the Monaro as land use impacts are augmented by projected warming, drying and increased rainfall variability across southeastern Australia, while changes in lake permanence are expected to be geographically bifurcated. These projections implicate adverse outcomes for endemic threatened ecological communities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"373 ","pages":"Article 109729"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145748397","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-12-08DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109743
Zhong-Lin Deng, Xin-Yan Li, Ting-Yong Li
The Chengdu Plain, located in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, represents the core area of the ancient Shu civilization. However, the coupling mechanisms between cultural transformations and climatic-environmental changes remain insufficiently understood. Owing to the absence of high-precision and high-resolution paleoclimate records from the Chengdu Plain, this study integrates speleothem, lake, and peat archives from the Sichuan Basin and its surroundings. By applying principal component analysis and multi-record comparisons, we reconstruct the evolution of the Asian summer monsoon (ASM) and associated regional hydroclimatic variability since 5.0 ka BP, and further examine the impacts of climatic change on the rise and fall of the ancient Shu civilization. Results indicate that the ASM has exhibited a long-term weakening trend since 5.0 ka BP, primarily driven by decreasing solar insolation, a southward shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and intensified ENSO activity. A cold-dry climatic event around 5.0 ka BP may have forced prehistoric populations from the upper Minjiang River (Yingpanshan culture) to migrate into the Chengdu Plain, leading to the emergence of the Baodun culture. Subsequently, the ancient Shu people adapted to environmental changes by adjusting crop composition and settlement locations. The decline phases of the Baodun (4.5∼3.7 ka BP), Sanxingdui (3.7∼3.2 ka BP), and Jinsha–Shierqiao (3.2∼2.6 ka BP) cultures broadly coincide with periods of marked ASM weakening, increased climatic instability, and frequent flooding events, while seismic activities and warfare may have further accelerated the societal collapse. These findings suggest that the rise and fall of the ancient Shu civilization on the Chengdu Plain was jointly influenced by climatic variability, flood hazards, and sociopolitical conflicts. Future work should focus on developing high-resolution, multi-proxy paleoclimate records with robust chronological control in the Chengdu Plain and adjacent regions, to enhance our understanding of the coupling mechanisms between climate change and regional cultural transformations.
成都平原位于长江上游，是古蜀文明的核心区。然而，文化转型与气候环境变化之间的耦合机制仍未得到充分认识。由于成都平原缺乏高精度、高分辨率的古气候记录，本研究整合了四川盆地及周边地区的洞穴、湖泊和泥炭档案。通过主成分分析和多记录对比，重建了5.0 ka BP以来亚洲夏季风的演变及其相关的区域水文气候变率，并进一步探讨了气候变化对古蜀文明兴衰的影响。结果表明，自5.0 ka BP以来，由于太阳辐照量的减少、热带辐合带的南移和ENSO活动的加剧，南亚大陆带呈现出长期的减弱趋势。5.0 ka BP左右的干冷气候事件可能迫使岷江上游的史前人口（营盘山文化）迁移到成都平原，导致宝墩文化的出现。随后，古蜀人通过调整作物组成和定居地点来适应环境的变化。宝墩文化（4.5 ~ 3.7 ka BP）、三星堆文化（3.7 ~ 3.2 ka BP）和金沙-石尔桥文化（3.2 ~ 2.6 ka BP）的衰退期大致与ASM明显减弱、气候不稳定加剧和频繁洪水事件的时期一致，而地震活动和战争可能进一步加速了社会崩溃。这些发现表明，成都平原古蜀文明的兴衰受到气候变化、洪水灾害和社会政治冲突的共同影响。未来的工作应侧重于在成都平原及邻近地区建立高分辨率、多代理、具有可靠年代学控制的古气候记录，以加强对气候变化与区域文化变迁耦合机制的认识。
{"title":"Climate change and transformations of ancient civilization in the Chengdu Plain, Southwest China, during the mid-to-late Holocene","authors":"Zhong-Lin Deng, Xin-Yan Li, Ting-Yong Li","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109743","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109743","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Chengdu Plain, located in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, represents the core area of the ancient Shu civilization. However, the coupling mechanisms between cultural transformations and climatic-environmental changes remain insufficiently understood. Owing to the absence of high-precision and high-resolution paleoclimate records from the Chengdu Plain, this study integrates speleothem, lake, and peat archives from the Sichuan Basin and its surroundings. By applying principal component analysis and multi-record comparisons, we reconstruct the evolution of the Asian summer monsoon (ASM) and associated regional hydroclimatic variability since 5.0 ka BP, and further examine the impacts of climatic change on the rise and fall of the ancient Shu civilization. Results indicate that the ASM has exhibited a long-term weakening trend since 5.0 ka BP, primarily driven by decreasing solar insolation, a southward shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and intensified ENSO activity. A cold-dry climatic event around 5.0 ka BP may have forced prehistoric populations from the upper Minjiang River (Yingpanshan culture) to migrate into the Chengdu Plain, leading to the emergence of the Baodun culture. Subsequently, the ancient Shu people adapted to environmental changes by adjusting crop composition and settlement locations. The decline phases of the Baodun (4.5∼3.7 ka BP), Sanxingdui (3.7∼3.2 ka BP), and Jinsha–Shierqiao (3.2∼2.6 ka BP) cultures broadly coincide with periods of marked ASM weakening, increased climatic instability, and frequent flooding events, while seismic activities and warfare may have further accelerated the societal collapse. These findings suggest that the rise and fall of the ancient Shu civilization on the Chengdu Plain was jointly influenced by climatic variability, flood hazards, and sociopolitical conflicts. Future work should focus on developing high-resolution, multi-proxy paleoclimate records with robust chronological control in the Chengdu Plain and adjacent regions, to enhance our understanding of the coupling mechanisms between climate change and regional cultural transformations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"373 ","pages":"Article 109743"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145748401","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-12-15DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109747
Junru Zhang , Fengming Chang , Ann Holbourn , Fang Qian , Luyao Tang , Tiegang Li
Upper ocean temperature and stratification play essential roles in regulating hydrological processes from regional to basin scales and in shaping climate systems. The Eastern Tropical Indian Ocean (ETIO), as a major source of heat and moisture, is critical to regional and large-scale hydroclimatic variability. However, the long-term evolution of its upper water thermal structure remains poorly constrained. Here, we reconstruct sea surface temperature (SST) and thermocline water temperature (TWT) records spanning the past 620 ka using planktonic foraminiferal Mg/Ca ratios from Core 18548 and IODP Site U1482 off the northwest Australian margin. The results reveal that both SST and TWT exhibit pronounced glacial–interglacial cyclicity, primarily paced by orbital-scale forcing, including the 100-ka and precession (23/19-ka) periodicities. Notably, TWT displays a stronger precession signal than SST. These orbital-scale variations reflect the modulation of heat transfer to the ETIO through sea-level-controlled Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) dynamics and precession-driven atmospheric circulation. The amplified TWT response arises from the combined effects of ITF-mediated thermocline advection and insolation-induced vertical mixing, which together regulate upper ocean heat redistribution. A significant shift in the gradient between SST and TWT (ΔT) around 400 ka, coinciding with the MBE, indicates a major reorganization of upper ocean thermal structure, likely driven by glacioeustatic sea-level fluctuations and changes in precession-induced wind systems. Our findings highlight the coupled forcing of 100-ka cycle and precession on upper ocean thermal evolution in the ETIO and offer critical insights into orbital-scale heat redistribution and tropical ocean-climate interactions.
{"title":"Shift of the upper ocean thermal structure across the Mid-Brunhes Event in the Eastern Tropical Indian Ocean","authors":"Junru Zhang , Fengming Chang , Ann Holbourn , Fang Qian , Luyao Tang , Tiegang Li","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109747","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109747","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Upper ocean temperature and stratification play essential roles in regulating hydrological processes from regional to basin scales and in shaping climate systems. The Eastern Tropical Indian Ocean (ETIO), as a major source of heat and moisture, is critical to regional and large-scale hydroclimatic variability. However, the long-term evolution of its upper water thermal structure remains poorly constrained. Here, we reconstruct sea surface temperature (SST) and thermocline water temperature (TWT) records spanning the past 620 ka using planktonic foraminiferal Mg/Ca ratios from Core 18548 and IODP Site U1482 off the northwest Australian margin. The results reveal that both SST and TWT exhibit pronounced glacial–interglacial cyclicity, primarily paced by orbital-scale forcing, including the 100-ka and precession (23/19-ka) periodicities. Notably, TWT displays a stronger precession signal than SST. These orbital-scale variations reflect the modulation of heat transfer to the ETIO through sea-level-controlled Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) dynamics and precession-driven atmospheric circulation. The amplified TWT response arises from the combined effects of ITF-mediated thermocline advection and insolation-induced vertical mixing, which together regulate upper ocean heat redistribution. A significant shift in the gradient between SST and TWT (ΔT) around 400 ka, coinciding with the MBE, indicates a major reorganization of upper ocean thermal structure, likely driven by glacioeustatic sea-level fluctuations and changes in precession-induced wind systems. Our findings highlight the coupled forcing of 100-ka cycle and precession on upper ocean thermal evolution in the ETIO and offer critical insights into orbital-scale heat redistribution and tropical ocean-climate interactions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"373 ","pages":"Article 109747"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145797950","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The middle phase of the Middle Paleolithic in the arid regions of the southern Levant is characterized by the presence of two distinct lithic traditions dominated by different reduction sequences: the centripetal Levallois and the Nubian Levallois. A new excavation at the site Besor Dyka uncovered well-preserved archaeological layers, dated by optically stimulated luminescence to late MIS 6–early MIS 5, making it the earliest known Middle Paleolithic occupation in the Negev Desert. Stable Isotope data from the site supports this chronology and suggests a correlation with one of the Negev Humid Periods. The lithic assemblage from the site is characterized by the dominance of the unidirectional convergent Levallois reduction strategy and the systematic production of triangular end-products. These traits, commonly associated with Late Middle Paleolithic sites in the southern Levant, differ from the contemporaneous MIS 6–5 centripetal Levallois and Nubian Levallois assemblages that are found in the Negev. The Besor Dyka lithics represents a third, previously unrecognized lithic tradition in the Negev during MIS 6–5. The results present new information on human adaptation to arid environments during the Middle Paleolithic and the possible influence of humid episodes on the movement of hunter gatherers between neighboring regions. The findings also emphasize that within the Middle Paleolithic of the southern Levant, the dominance of a specific Levallois strategy alone cannot reliably be used as a chronological marker.
黎凡特南部干旱地区中旧石器时代中期的特点是存在两种截然不同的石器传统，它们以不同的还原序列为主导：向心勒瓦卢瓦和努比亚勒瓦卢瓦。在Besor Dyka遗址的一次新挖掘发现了保存完好的考古层，通过光学刺激发光可以追溯到MIS 6晚期- MIS 5早期，使其成为内盖夫沙漠中已知最早的旧石器时代中期占领。来自该遗址的稳定同位素数据支持这一年代学，并表明它与内盖夫湿润期的一个时期有关。该遗址的岩石组合以单向收敛的Levallois还原策略和三角形最终产品的系统生产为特征。这些特征通常与黎凡特南部旧石器时代晚期中期遗址有关，与在内盖夫发现的同时期MIS 6-5向心勒瓦卢瓦和努比亚勒瓦卢瓦组合不同。Besor Dyka岩屑代表了在MIS 6-5期间内盖夫第三个以前未被认识到的岩屑传统。这些结果提供了关于旧石器时代中期人类对干旱环境的适应的新信息，以及潮湿时期对邻近地区之间狩猎采集者运动的可能影响。研究结果还强调，在黎凡特南部旧石器时代中期，一种特定的勒瓦卢瓦策略的统治地位不能单独作为一个可靠的年代标记。
{"title":"Multiple Middle Paleolithic lithic traditions in the southern Levant during MIS 6-5 and cultural variability in arid environments: insights from the site of Besor Dyka, Negev Desert","authors":"Maya Oron , Masha Krakovsky , Naomi Porat , Yoav Avni , Nimrod Wieler , Avner Ayalon , Tami Zilberman , Eli Cohen Sasson , Omry Barzilai","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109745","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109745","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The middle phase of the Middle Paleolithic in the arid regions of the southern Levant is characterized by the presence of two distinct lithic traditions dominated by different reduction sequences: the centripetal Levallois and the Nubian Levallois. A new excavation at the site Besor Dyka uncovered well-preserved archaeological layers, dated by optically stimulated luminescence to late MIS 6–early MIS 5, making it the earliest known Middle Paleolithic occupation in the Negev Desert. Stable Isotope data from the site supports this chronology and suggests a correlation with one of the Negev Humid Periods. The lithic assemblage from the site is characterized by the dominance of the unidirectional convergent Levallois reduction strategy and the systematic production of triangular end-products. These traits, commonly associated with Late Middle Paleolithic sites in the southern Levant, differ from the contemporaneous MIS 6–5 centripetal Levallois and Nubian Levallois assemblages that are found in the Negev. The Besor Dyka lithics represents a third, previously unrecognized lithic tradition in the Negev during MIS 6–5. The results present new information on human adaptation to arid environments during the Middle Paleolithic and the possible influence of humid episodes on the movement of hunter gatherers between neighboring regions. The findings also emphasize that within the Middle Paleolithic of the southern Levant, the dominance of a specific Levallois strategy alone cannot reliably be used as a chronological marker.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"373 ","pages":"Article 109745"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145692726","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-12-09DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109734
Celeste T. Pallone , Karine Holmes , Chandler A. Morris , Jerry F. McManus
Eastern equatorial Pacific thermocline depth is an important component of the tropical Pacific's coupled ocean-atmosphere system and varies across El Niño and La Niña events. To investigate the influence of orbital forcing, we present a paleo-record of thermocline depth throughout the last large Pleistocene climate cycle, derived from downcore measurements of the oxygen isotope composition of multiple species of planktic foraminifera that calcified at different depths throughout the upper water column. We find that the eastern equatorial Pacific thermocline varied between deeper and shallower mean states, deepening when insolation at the equator in boreal late summer/early fall decreased and shoaling when this seasonal insolation increased. Here, we show a close phase relationship between precession-paced increases in boreal late summer/early fall equatorial insolation and thermocline shoaling, which suggests that heating of the tropical Pacific during months of maximum zonal sea surface temperature and thermocline depth asymmetry was a key influence on its mean state.
{"title":"Orbital forcing of the eastern equatorial Pacific thermocline in the late Pleistocene","authors":"Celeste T. Pallone , Karine Holmes , Chandler A. Morris , Jerry F. McManus","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109734","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109734","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Eastern equatorial Pacific thermocline depth is an important component of the tropical Pacific's coupled ocean-atmosphere system and varies across El Niño and La Niña events. To investigate the influence of orbital forcing, we present a paleo-record of thermocline depth throughout the last large Pleistocene climate cycle, derived from downcore measurements of the oxygen isotope composition of multiple species of planktic foraminifera that calcified at different depths throughout the upper water column. We find that the eastern equatorial Pacific thermocline varied between deeper and shallower mean states, deepening when insolation at the equator in boreal late summer/early fall decreased and shoaling when this seasonal insolation increased. Here, we show a close phase relationship between precession-paced increases in boreal late summer/early fall equatorial insolation and thermocline shoaling, which suggests that heating of the tropical Pacific during months of maximum zonal sea surface temperature and thermocline depth asymmetry was a key influence on its mean state.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"373 ","pages":"Article 109734"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145748398","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-12-12DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109731
Christopher Laurikainen Gaete , Scott Hocknull , Clement P. Bataille , Andrew M. Lorrey , Katarina M. Mikac , Rochelle Lawrence , Anthony Dosseto
Australia's Quaternary fossil record is characterised by a high diversity of macropodid taxa. Based on fossil faunal assemblages, it has been hypothesised many macropodids lived in sympatry during the Pleistocene, however, local geographic and dietary overlap is equivocal due to taphonomic uncertainty. Modern macropodid species rarely exhibit sympatry, suggesting anthropogenic or environmental changes may have disrupted these communities. Using Sr and C isotopes, we reconstruct foraging ranges and dietary preferences of several fossil macropodid lineages recovered in Middle Pleistocene cave deposits, at Mount Etna Caves, central eastern Queensland, Australia. Our results show that most macropodids, baring a single Petrogale potentially dispersing >60 km, had limited foraging ranges and remained within 15 km of the fossil site. Moderate to large scale dispersal in individual Petrogale mirrors male-biased dispersal observed in some modern Petrogale populations indicating some individuals have the propensity to move between isolated colonies when corridors for dispersal are present. Smaller macropodids show dietary preferences similar to modern counterparts, while Protemnodon exhibit a division between C3/C4 intake, potentially indicating species-level differences. The analysis of geographic range and diet of this fossil assemblage reveals that macropodids partitioned on the landscape around the cave with a C3-dominant community – comprised of Protemnodon, Petrogale, and Thylogale – to the northwest, and a C4-dominant grassland community – comprised of Notamacropus and isolated members of Protemnodon and Petrogale – to the south. Therefore, we conclude, that although faunal assemblages alone suggest a larger number of macropodids living in sympatry, isotopic proxies uncover complex habitat partitioning between C3 and C4 environments around Mount Etna Caves.
{"title":"Niche partitioning and limited mobility characterise Middle Pleistocene kangaroos from eastern Australia","authors":"Christopher Laurikainen Gaete , Scott Hocknull , Clement P. Bataille , Andrew M. Lorrey , Katarina M. Mikac , Rochelle Lawrence , Anthony Dosseto","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109731","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109731","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Australia's Quaternary fossil record is characterised by a high diversity of macropodid taxa. Based on fossil faunal assemblages, it has been hypothesised many macropodids lived in sympatry during the Pleistocene, however, local geographic and dietary overlap is equivocal due to taphonomic uncertainty. Modern macropodid species rarely exhibit sympatry, suggesting anthropogenic or environmental changes may have disrupted these communities. Using Sr and C isotopes, we reconstruct foraging ranges and dietary preferences of several fossil macropodid lineages recovered in Middle Pleistocene cave deposits, at Mount Etna Caves, central eastern Queensland, Australia. Our results show that most macropodids, baring a single <em>Petrogale</em> potentially dispersing >60 km, had limited foraging ranges and remained within 15 km of the fossil site. Moderate to large scale dispersal in individual <em>Petrogale</em> mirrors male-biased dispersal observed in some modern <em>Petrogale</em> populations indicating some individuals have the propensity to move between isolated colonies when corridors for dispersal are present. Smaller macropodids show dietary preferences similar to modern counterparts, while <em>Protemnodon</em> exhibit a division between C<sub>3</sub>/C<sub>4</sub> intake, potentially indicating species-level differences. The analysis of geographic range and diet of this fossil assemblage reveals that macropodids partitioned on the landscape around the cave with a C<sub>3</sub>-dominant community – comprised of <em>Protemnodon, Petrogale,</em> and <em>Thylogale –</em> to the northwest, and a C<sub>4</sub>-dominant grassland community – comprised of <em>Notamacropus</em> and isolated members of <em>Protemnodon</em> and <em>Petrogale</em> – to the south. Therefore, we conclude, that although faunal assemblages alone suggest a larger number of macropodids living in sympatry, isotopic proxies uncover complex habitat partitioning between C<sub>3</sub> and C<sub>4</sub> environments around Mount Etna Caves.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"373 ","pages":"Article 109731"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145748403","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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