New evidence for the catastrophic demise of a prehistoric settlement (the Lajia Ruins) in the Guanting Basin, upper Yellow River, NW China

doi:10.1016/j.jseaes.2017.05.019

CORC > 地球环境研究所 > 中国科学院地球环境研究所 > 黄土与第四纪地质国家重点实验室（2010~）

	New evidence for the catastrophic demise of a prehistoric settlement (the Lajia Ruins) in the Guanting Basin, upper Yellow River, NW China
	Hu, Ying 1; Huang, Chun Chang 1; Zheng, Zixing 1; Guo, Yongqiang 1; Zhou, Qiang 2; Zhao, Hui 1,3; Zhang, Yuzhu 4
刊名	JOURNAL OF ASIAN EARTH SCIENCES
	2017-09-15
卷号	146 期号:2017 页码:134-141
关键词	Prehistoric Catastrophes Red Clay Mudflow Human Impact Lajia Ruins
DOI	10.1016/j.jseaes.2017.05.019
文献子类	Article
英文摘要	The Lajia Ruins in the Guanting Basin, NW China, are a product of the prehistoric Qijia Culture. Like Pompeii, they are a rare example of an archaeological site preserved by a natural disaster and are therefore important in archaeology, anthropology and geology. However, the nature of the disaster(s) responsible for the destruction of the site remains controversial. Most studies have focused on an earthquake and a red clay layer directly overlying the site and a detailed stratigraphic study of the mid-Holocene sedimentary strata combined with other intervals of red clay deposition (hence possible disasters) is lacking. We identified a mid-Holocene paleosol sequence (the Shanglajia section) at the site which contains two layers of red clay, dated to 3950 a BP and 3500 a BP, intercalated within the mid-Holocene paleosol (So). Subsequent multi-proxy analysis indicated that the characteristics of the two red clay layers resemble those of typical Tertiary red clay deposits and the modern gully deposit at the foot of the Great Red Hills, but are distinctly different from those of the slackwater deposits of the Yellow River and the mid-Holocene paleosol. Our results suggest that, at 3950 a BP and 3500 a BP, two large-scale rainstorm-induced mudflow events, originating from the gullies to the north, flooded the Lajia area on the second terrace of the Yellow River, devastating and burying the human settlements. We infer that the intensified erosion and mass wasting were caused by human activity; in addition, natural factors such as rainstorms and earthquakes, may also have played an important role in triggering catastrophic mudflow events in the Tertiary Red Clay deposits. Overall, our results provide further insights into prehistoric man-land relationships in this environmentally sensitive region which may have implications for modern land use in this region of China and elsewhere.
WOS关键词	NE TIBETAN PLATEAU ; RED CLAY DEPOSITS ; LOESS PLATEAU ; MAGNETIC-SUSCEPTIBILITY ; CLIMATE-CHANGE ; PALEOCLIMATIC SIGNIFICANCE ; ENVIRONMENTAL-CHANGES ; SIZE DISTRIBUTIONS ; MAYA CIVILIZATION ; QINGHAI PROVINCE
WOS研究方向	Geology
语种	英语
WOS记录号	WOS:000414820300009
内容类型	期刊论文
源URL	[http://ir.ieecas.cn/handle/361006/5387]
专题	地球环境研究所_黄土与第四纪地质国家重点实验室（2010~）
作者单位	1.Shaanxi Normal Univ, Dept Geog, Xian 710062, Shaanxi, Peoples R China 2.Qinghai Normal Univ, Sch Life & Geog Sci, Xining 810008, Qinghai, Peoples R China 3.Chinese Acad Sci, State Key Lab Loess & Quaternary Geol, Inst Earth Environm, Xian 710061, Shaanxi, Peoples R China 4.Northwest Univ, Coll Urban & Environm Sci, Xian 710127, Shaanxi, Peoples R China
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Hu, Ying,Huang, Chun Chang,Zheng, Zixing,et al. New evidence for the catastrophic demise of a prehistoric settlement (the Lajia Ruins) in the Guanting Basin, upper Yellow River, NW China[J]. JOURNAL OF ASIAN EARTH SCIENCES,2017,146(2017):134-141.
APA	Hu, Ying.,Huang, Chun Chang.,Zheng, Zixing.,Guo, Yongqiang.,Zhou, Qiang.,...&Zhang, Yuzhu.(2017).New evidence for the catastrophic demise of a prehistoric settlement (the Lajia Ruins) in the Guanting Basin, upper Yellow River, NW China.JOURNAL OF ASIAN EARTH SCIENCES,146(2017),134-141.
MLA	Hu, Ying,et al."New evidence for the catastrophic demise of a prehistoric settlement (the Lajia Ruins) in the Guanting Basin, upper Yellow River, NW China".JOURNAL OF ASIAN EARTH SCIENCES 146.2017(2017):134-141.