Holocene transgression and Neolithic human adaptations in the Zhejiang coastal Plain, East China

The Quaternary transgression had a significant impact on environmental changes and ancient human activities in eastern China. However, due to the lack of reliable core records, the history of the transgression and its impact on human activities along the eastern coast of Zhejiang Province remains unclear. Here, multi-proxy indicators including lithology, AMS¹⁴C dating, grain size, total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), elemental geochemistry, and microfossils in a new core (QTZ1) from the Wenzhou Coastal Plain (WCP) are employed to reconstruct sedimentary evolution, which experienced four phases as follows: (1) The terrestrial environment dominated by delta facies (before 11,700 cal a BP); (2) The marine-terrestrial transitional environment dominated by littoral facies (11,700–9,400 cal a BP); (3) The marine environment dominated by shallow marine facies (9,400–6,200 cal a BP), including the Holocene transgression maximum occurred during 8,400–7,400 cal a BP; (4) The marine-terrestrial transitional environment marked by littoral facies (after 6,200 cal a BP). A comparative analysis on the Holocene transgression intensity, as reconstructed by Sr/Ba in the WCP, and archaeological sites in the Ningshao Plain indicates that the ancestors gradually migrated to the eastern low-elevation plains and developed Neolithic rice cultivation after the transgression maximum. Our results sheds light on the correlation between the Holocene transgression, sedimentary evolution, and ancient human activities in Zhejiang Coastal Plain, providing valuable insights into Quaternary environmental changes and human adaptations in the eastern China.