Environmental change and cultural response between 8000 and 4000 cal. yr BP in the western Loess Plateau, northwest China

Two ancient swamps in the western Loess Plateau, northwest China record the climate history between 8000 and 4000 cal. yr BP. Grain size, CaCO3, organic matter, mollusc fauna and pollen assemblages show that climate was wet between 8300 and 7400 cal. yr BP, distinctly humid and warm between 7400 and 6700 cal. yr BP, semi-humid from 6700 to 6300 cal. yr BP, and semi-arid between 6300 and 4000 cal. yr BP. The temporal and spatial distribution of archaeological sites shows that the prosperity of the neolithic cultures in the western part of the Chinese Loess Plateau did not appear until the climate changed to semi-arid, implying that the semi-arid climate was more favourable than wet and humid climate to neolithic peoples, whose subsistence was based on cereals adapted to and environments. Copyright (C) 2004 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.