Quaternary International最新文献

{"title":"Pre-Qin Period Settlement Development in the Li River Basin in China: Environmental Factors and Predictive Modeling","authors":"Rui Bai","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109937","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109937","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study utilizes behavioral ecology theory, particularly the Ideal Free Distribution model, to investigate how pre-Qin communities strategically chose their settlement locations in the Li River Basin of northeastern Guangdong Province. By employing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to analyze 134 archaeological sites, we aim to determine whether settlement patterns reflect individual optimization decisions within the framework of environmental constraints. The hypothesis is that communities initially settled in the highest-ranked habitats and subsequently moved to lower-ranked areas as population density increased. The research involves digital terrain analysis, hydrological analysis, and examination of the environmental context of these 134 archaeological sites. The findings reveal that settlements are strategically clustered between 100 and 300 m elevation, avoiding flood-prone lowlands while maintaining access to water resources, with preferences for gentle 2–6° slopes suitable for agriculture and southeast-facing aspects that optimized solar exposure and wind protection. Hydrological analysis indicates settlements favored locations 200–500 m from third and fourth-order streams, demonstrating sophisticated water management strategies. Environmental analysis shows a transition from dispersed to concentrated settlement patterns across four chronological phases, reflecting a shift from hunting-gathering to agricultural societies. Using binary logistic regression, a predictive model was developed, achieving over 50 % accuracy in identifying potential site locations. The study demonstrates how individual settlement decisions, while consistently optimizing environmental advantages, evolved from broader habitat utilization in early phases to concentrated occupation of prime agricultural locations in later periods. This pattern supports the predictions of the Ideal Free Distribution model and illustrates how farmers redefined habitat suitability rankings instead of eliminating environmental constraints.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"745 ","pages":"Article 109937"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144771180","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Changes in the magnitude and frequency of Holocene monsoon floods on the Mahi River, western India with special reference to Anthropocene","authors":"Pramodkumar S. Hire ,&nbsp;Gitanjali W. Bramhankar ,&nbsp;Archana D. Patil ,&nbsp;Manoj K. Jaiswal ,&nbsp;Kartika Goswami ,&nbsp;Dhiraj Kumar","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109936","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109936","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Over the past seven decades, the monsoon-dominated Mahi River in western India has experienced extraordinarily large floods, ranking among the highest recorded rainfall-runoff discharges per drainage area in the world. The large magnitude floods on this river are direct outcomes of severe tropical cyclones/storms implanted within the Indian summer monsoon. The cluster of extreme floods in the past few decades represents an inconsistent strengthening in both the magnitude and frequency of large floods when compared with the 17 ka record of palaeoflood deposits in the basin. Palaeoflood records have been reconstructed from high-water marks (scour line, shrub line, trimline) and palaeostage indicators such as slackwater deposit (flood deposit benches, eddy bars, and deposits at tributary mouths). An investigation of relative magnitude for modern, historical and palaeofloods shows that the present and second half of the last century is characterized by very large magnitude floods. The study demonstrates that most historical floods and palaeofloods, for which there is evidence, were smaller in magnitude compared to modern floods. The examination further reveals that the floods are clustered in distinct time intervals. There is evidence of clustering in five different periods - (a) 9000 - 7000 BCE, (b) 3000 - 0 BCE, (c) between 1520s and 1720s, (d) Aaround 1920s, and (e) between 1960s and 1990s. The largest floods in the modern record of the Mahi River at the Wanakbori site between the 1960s and 2020s is 120-yr flood, while its tributary, the Som River at the Rangeli site, is 720-yr flood according to the Log-Pearson III probability distribution. A comparison between palaeofloods and gauged record demonstrating the enormous recent increase in the magnitude and frequency of severe floods. This cluster of severe floods from the current and last century could be due to changes in climate, land use, or the construction of dams, thereby indicating the influence of human activity. These post-1950 CE floods are thus the largest at least in the Holocene. Numerous palaeoflood studies in tropical storm regions reveal a similar increase in high-magnitude floods within the past seven decades. This pattern suggests that widespread climatic changes, land use modifications, and the construction of large dams are contributing factors, indicating an increase in the magnitude and frequency of floods during the Anthropocene.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"745 ","pages":"Article 109936"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144724139","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reappraising the timing and spatial pattern of the Little Ice Age in China: full-field insights from the Last Millennium Climate Reanalysis Project version 2.1","authors":"Miao Fang ,&nbsp;Huan Chang","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109935","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109935","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Site-specific and regionally-composited temperature reconstructions confirmed the presence of the Little Ice Age (LIA) in certain areas of China over the last millennium. However, a country-wide view of the LIA in China is still lacking, leading to ongoing debates about whether the LIA was a coherent, nationwide cold period. This study addresses this gap by analyzing the timing and spatial pattern of the LIA across China using the Last Millennium Climate Reanalysis. Key findings include: China experienced broadly cold conditions during the last millennium, but the LIA onset was notably asynchronous, in contrast to the near-synchronous termination of the LIA across China. Peak cooling occurred at different times in various regions, e.g., the 13th century in most of southern China, the 18th century in the eastern and western parts of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and the 19th century in other areas. Generally, the magnitude of peak cooling increased with latitude. EOF analysis suggests the first mode accounts for 68.53 % of the total variance in temperature variability during 1200-1900 AD and indicates spatial consistency in temperature variability during this period. Weakening solar irradiance since the late 12th century is identified as the primary driver of these variations. The second mode explains 15.05 % of the total variance and reveals a north-south dipole pattern. Teleconnection factors such as the North Atlantic Oscillation and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation significantly influence this mode. However, various monsoon systems across northern and southern China may play more important roles in this mode. The third mode accounts for 5.56 % of the total variance and displays tri-pole pattern (north-center-south), largely influenced by variations in the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, volcanic eruptions, and greenhouse gases. These findings provide full-field insights into the spatiotemporal characteristics of the LIA in China and enhance our understanding of this historical climate event.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"745 ","pages":"Article 109935"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144704516","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Lithic analysis of the north African Middle Stone age from the Rhafas cave sequence","authors":"Benoit Longet ,&nbsp;Jean-Pierre Bracco ,&nbsp;El Hassan Talbi ,&nbsp;Jacques Collina-Girard ,&nbsp;Abdeljalil Bouzouggar","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109921","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109921","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rhafas Cave provides one of the rare dated sequences from MIS 5 in northern Morocco, showcasing a wide variety of lithic industries. Initially discovered by Jean Marion in 1950, the site was excavated by Luc Wengler's team from 1978 onwards and later by Abdeljalil Bouzouggar's teams beginning in 2007. This study aims to contribute new data to the ongoing discussions on defining North African technocomplexes through a techno-economic analysis of lithic material. Multiple dating programmes have established a chronological framework for this sequence, providing a solid foundation for developing a chronocultural model. These results reveal the succession of several technocomplexes, marked by the evolution and transformation of the technical repertoire between the late Middle and Late Pleistocene. They also highlight clear distinctions between the industries of the Early Middle Stone Age and the later phases of the Middle Stone Age.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"741 ","pages":"Article 109921"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144711584","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The effects of redeposition phenomena on the reconstruction of palaeoenvironment in the southeastern Baltic Sea","authors":"Giedrė Vaikutienė ,&nbsp;Irina Sosnina ,&nbsp;Alma Grigienė ,&nbsp;Aldona Damušytė ,&nbsp;Vaida Šeirienė ,&nbsp;Žana Skuratovič ,&nbsp;Albertas Bitinas","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109922","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109922","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The coastal waters of the southeastern Baltic Sea, up to a depth of approximately 60–65 m, experienced the significant basin regression at the very end of the existence of the Baltic Ice Lake and the beginning of Yoldia Sea, as well as some transgressions during the Ancylus Lake and Litorina Sea stages. In the Lithuanian waters, two 5-m cores, taken from different depths and sedimentary zones were analysed. The radiocarbon dating, diatom and pollen analysis, loss on ignition and magnetic susceptibility methods were employed in order to reconstruct the environmental conditions that influenced the sedimentation process in the coastal waters. The prevalence of fresh-brackish benthic diatoms throughout the sediment sequences indicates that shallow freshwater environments existed in the coastal waters of the various Baltic Sea basins from the Late Glacial until the Middle Holocene. The results of the integrated studies revealed radiocarbon age reversals and inconsistencies between sediment ages and the results of diatom and pollen studies. The frequent stratification of sandy sediments with organogenic sediment interlayers indicates the redeposition of sediments of different origins and ages during the transgressions of the Ancylus Lake and Litorina Sea. The highly variable content of freshwater planktonic-benthic diatoms, as well as presence of brackish diatoms in organogenic sediments, confirm an unstable environment in the coastal waters during the basin's transgressional phases. In summary, the studies indicate that the stratigraphic identification of sediments in coastal waters is problematic due to the specific sedimentary environment in which they are deposited. This also complicates the reconstruction of the palaeogeographic conditions of entire basins during the different stages of the Baltic Sea development. When interpreting the radiocarbon ages and palaeobotanical data, the specific sedimentary environment of coastal waters should be taken into account.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"743 ","pages":"Article 109922"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144702142","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A multi-model approach to the spatial and temporal characterization of the African Humid Period","authors":"William D. Gosling ,&nbsp;Manuel Chevalier ,&nbsp;Markus L. Fischer ,&nbsp;Marjolein Holewijn ,&nbsp;Jemma Finch ,&nbsp;Graciela Gil-Romera ,&nbsp;Trevor Hill ,&nbsp;Alfred Houngnon ,&nbsp;Michela Leonardi ,&nbsp;Andrea Manica ,&nbsp;Stefanie Kaboth-Bahr","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109933","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109933","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>During the last c. 20,000 years, African climates experienced temperature shifts related to the last period of global deglaciation and moisture availability changes that defined what has become known as the African Humid Period (AHP) c. 14,800–5500 years ago. However, spatio-temporal variations in climate, and the mechanisms behind them, across Africa remain poorly defined and debated. Here, we first characterize climatic change across tropical Africa (15°N to 15°S) over the last c. 20,000 years based on two independent site-specific modelling approaches at nine locations, using: (i) probability-based reconstructions based on pollen data from nine previously published pollen records, and (ii) climate simulation-based reconstructions based on mechanistic models of the Earth system. Trends in past climate change per site were found to be similar between the two modelling approaches; however, estimates of precipitation were higher in the pollen-based reconstructions when compared with those from the mechanistic model. Given the overall similarity between the two modelling approaches at the sites, we then used the mechanistic model to produce maps of past climate across Africa at 1000-year time slices. Interrogation of the model supports previous suggestions that the AHP in the west was driven by increasing precipitation (c. 13,000 years ago). In the eastern and southern portions of the study region, the AHP signal is more complex, likely driven by the interplay between different climate mechanisms; with the onset of the wettest AHP conditions in eastern Africa not commencing until c. 9000 years ago.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"744 ","pages":"Article 109933"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144702405","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Millennial paleo-landscape reconstructions of coastal areas: From field data to modelling approaches","authors":"Claudia Caporizzo ,&nbsp;Ana Novak ,&nbsp;Pietro P.C. Aucelli ,&nbsp;Gaia Mattei","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109932","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109932","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"742 ","pages":"Article 109932"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144687571","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Paleolithic settlement patterns in the Central Balkans: A predictive approach on the territory of Serbia","authors":"Ana Majkić,&nbsp;Sofija Dragosavac","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109916","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109916","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Predictive spatial modelling in archaeology has emerged as a valuable analytical tool for research and cultural resource management over the last decades. By combining GIS techniques and geostatistical methods, this tool examines the distribution of archaeological sites within their environmental context, aiming to understand settlement patterns and explain past human behavior through their link with the local environment. In this study, we compare three predictive modelling methods, Probabilistic Frequency Ratio, Generalized Additive Model, and MaxEnt applied to the case of the Paleolithic cave sites in the Central Balkans. The models were evaluated firstly through a threshold-independent measure using the Area Under the Curve (AUC), and secondly as binary models to assess their classification accuracy. While all three methods demonstrated good performances (AUC&gt;0.85), MaxEnt proved to be the most efficient, as evidenced by both binary and threshold-independent evaluations. MaxEnt identified several high-probability areas based on geomorphological and ecological associations with the known archaeological cave sites. The reliability of MaxEnt's predictions was further reinforced by the substantial overlap with the results from the other two models. With each model built for two nested regions, we examined their respective interpolation and extrapolation performances to explore the potential of such approaches in cases where the archaeological data might be too scarce. The results suggest that such procedures might be applicable/warranted for investigating broader or underexplored regions with limited datasets.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"744 ","pages":"Article 109916"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144663224","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Archaeobotanical insights on the change of subsistence from the Eastern Zhou to Han Dynasty: A case study of the Luojiaba site (Sichuan, China)","authors":"Xiaobin Wang ,&nbsp;Weidong Chen ,&nbsp;Luhong Zheng ,&nbsp;Yu Dong","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109904","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109904","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Northeastern Sichuan, located in southwestern China, was an overlooked area in Chinese history compared to the Central Plains. It was the core region of the Ba State during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty until conquered by the Qin in 316 B.C. This region went through critical transformations from the Eastern Zhou Dynasty to the Han Dynasty. Studying the subsistence strategies of northeastern Sichuan can not only shed light on the living environment, diet, economy of Ba people, but also help us understand the transformations they underwent. The Luojiaba (罗家坝) site is the best-preserved and largest Ba settlement found so far in the region and provides us an invaluable opportunity to investigate the subsistence in this region. We systematically collected flotation samples from Luojiaba site during the excavations from 2020 to 2022. Our analysis results showed that foxtail millet was the main crop, along with broomcorn millet, rice, and a small amount of wheat and pulses; however, the proportion of wheat and rice increased notably from the Warring States to the Western Han Dynasty. By integrating evidence from the fauna assemblage and production tools, we infer that Luojiaba people mainly obtained food resources through farming and fishing, foraging and animal husbandry only serve as supplements. The subsistence pattern at Luojiaba is likely shaped by both the economic traditions of the Ba people and the expanded influence of the Qin and Han central governments. The current research provided critical evidence on the cultural history of Ba people and how it gradually merged into the Han culture.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"744 ","pages":"Article 109904"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144653843","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"New paradigms to evaluate the stratigraphy for the geological and geoarchaeological prospects of the upper and post-Siwaliks in the Soan Valley, Upper Indus Basin, Pakistan","authors":"Nadir Fawad ,&nbsp;Daidu Fan ,&nbsp;Taixun Liu ,&nbsp;Anne Dambricourt Malassé ,&nbsp;Muhammad Kamran ,&nbsp;Qazi Adnan Ahmed ,&nbsp;Fahad Ali","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109919","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109919","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Upper Siwalik (US) of the Late Pliocene to the Middle Pleistocene and the Post-Siwalik (PS) of the Late Pleistocene to the Holocene are extensively distributed in the Upper Indus Basin. These deposits have geological and geoarchaeological significance, but they are least explored in the northwestern Himalaya, specifically in Pakistan. The current fieldwork was conducted in the Soan Valley of the Upper Indus Basin, Pakistan, through detailed stratigraphic and sedimentological investigations to address the existing research gap. Multiple methods and datasets are employed, including outcrop investigation, loss on ignition analysis, literature review, and well top data from five wells. The study identified thirteen lithofacies and six lithofacies associations, distinguished by multiple coarsening-to-fining upward cycles. These deposits indicate a transition from fluvial channel to floodplain and from alluvial to aeolian environments, showing progradation, aggradation, and retrogradation patterns across high to low accommodation system tracts (HAST and LAST). Five sequences (Sq1-Sq5) are recognized in the upper and lower Soan Valley. Sedimentary evolution was controlled by active tectonism and paleoclimates. Together with tectonic activities, LOI values indicate a transition between arid to semiarid and humid conditions, influencing the transformation of LAST and HAST, and creating a dynamic landscape for hominins in the Soan Valley. Previous studies have linked Paleolithic artefacts to these sequence stratigraphic cycles. This research lays the foundation for further geological and geoarchaeological investigations in the Soan Valley. Sequence stratigraphic and sedimentological approaches establish new paradigms, opening avenues for researchers to explore the Quaternary strata of the Himalaya and Paleolithic sites of the Soan Valley.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"744 ","pages":"Article 109919"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144663225","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}