2012/05/16 by Tristram R. Kidder, Haiwang Liu, Qinghai Xu +1 · 1 citation
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Arts and Humanities · #Geology and Paleoclimatology Research #Archaeology and ancient environmental studies #Maritime and Coastal Archaeology #Holocene #Floodplain #Archaeology #Geoarchaeology #Alluvium #Flooding (psychology) #China #Geology #Human settlement #Geography #Paleosol #Paleontology #Cartography
paper · doi:10.1002/gea.21411
openalex publication_date 2012/05/16 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/10
The Sanyangzhuang site, Henan Province, China, has a 12‐m‐deep stratigraphic sequence with remains from the Tang (A.D. 618–907), late Western Han (ca. 140 B.C.–A.D. 23), Warring States (475–221 B.C.), Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age (ca. 5000–1500 B.C.), Middle Holocene, and Early Holocene times. All of the paleosols are deeply buried. We investigate four issues relevant to the archaeology of the lower Yellow River Valley. First, we confirm that the Yellow River flowed north toward Bohai Bay throughout most of the Holocene. Second, we expand understanding of Holocene paleoenvironments. Long episodes of landscape stability punctuated by brief periods of Yellow River flooding represent the dominant environmental pattern. Third, we investigate how the complex relationships between climate, culture, and the environment affect Yellow River flooding, which in turn shapes Chinese civilization and history. Flooding in late Western Han times affected a vast area of north‐central China; this catastrophe contributed to the downfall of the late Western Han Dynasty. Finally, this research sheds light on the role of Yellow River alluviation in site burial and preservation. Rapid alluviation in the region has buried many archaeological sites. Settlement pattern research needs to take seriously the limitations placed on site visibility in quickly aggrading floodplains. However, gentle alluviation has also preserved settlements and entire landscapes providing unparalleled opportunities to explore the archaeological and historical record of the lower Yellow River Valley.