Abrupt Drying on the Southeast Coast of China During the Mid-to-Late Holocene Transition

Abstract

It is becoming increasingly clear that China experienced significant hydrological changes during the mid-to-late Holocene transition—a period characterized by societal changes. However, the nature of the hydroclimate anomaly as well as the direct consequences on societies in Southeast China remains unclear. Here, we present a leaf wax record from the Shuizhuyang peat deposit in Southeast China spanning the Holocene. The δD values of C29 n-alkane (δDC29) showed a large positive shift up to 24‰ from 4.7 to 3.8 ka, which changed independent of vegetation proxies and could not be solely explained by precipitation δD variations. It is thus most likely to reflect abrupt drying, which is probably shaped by a more El Niño-like mean state in the tropical Pacific Ocean. We hypothesize that such a significant change in hydroclimate might have promoted the development of mixed rice and millet farming on the southeast coast of China.