Long-Term Occupation on Shifting Wetlands Around the Haimenkou Site in Yunnan, Southwest China

Abstract

Environmental reconstruction at the site level is crucial for gaining a nuanced understanding of human-environment interactions in prehistoric period. The Haimenkou wetland archaeological site, located on the Yunnan Plateau in Southwest China, offers an opportunity to investigate how local environmental conditions have changed since the late Pleistocene and how humans adapted to and modified these landscapes over time. This study employs a multi-proxy approach to reconstruct the sedimentary history and physical environment surrounding the site. Our results indicate that before human occupation, Neotectonic activity and climatic fluctuations played the most significant roles in shaping the land surface. The Jianchuan Basin, where Haimenkou is situated, underwent considerable geomorphological changes driven by these natural forces, including shifting lake levels and erosional processes. However, once human settlement began, anthropogenic activities—such as forest clearance, agriculture, and the expansion of settlements—became the dominant forces altering the environment. The findings also have broader implications for understanding the “Missing Millennia”—a term used to describe the scarcity of archaeological sites from the Mid-Holocene across Southwest China and mainland Southeast Asia. Our research suggests that active erosion, sediment transport, and redeposition during this period likely played a significant role in the poor preservation of archaeological remains.