ENVIRONMENTAL AND ANTHROPOGENIC RECORDS OF LATE LONGSHAN PERIOD AT THE WADIAN SITE

The late Longshan period is a critical time for establishment of Chinese civilization. The archaeological site of Wadian, situated by the upper Ying River in Yuzhou, is one of typical sites formed within this stage. And so the cultural layers contain relatively complete information on both paleo-environment and human activities. The authors measured grain sizes, metal element concentrations, magnetic susceptibility and charcoal density of the layered deposits at the Wadian site in order to construct the interaction between human and environment. Results show that both the M/F ratio of charcoal density and the concentrations of Pb and Cu are high, and the grain size distribution pattern is featured by a unimodal frequency curve at the fine end of the lower layer approximately 4.1-3.9kaBP, representing a dry climate and flourishing period of prehistoric farming. In the period from 4.1-3.9kaBP, Cr/Cu ratio goes up but M/F ratio, K, Ca, Cu contents drop down, indicating a wet climate and weak human activity. Some times, there are bimodal frequency curves, suggesting the contribution of eolian transportation.