Elsevier

Marine Geology

Volume 426, August 2020, 106213
Marine Geology

Invited Research Article
Palynological evidence for Early to Mid-Holocene sea-level fluctuations over the present-day Ningshao Coastal Plain in eastern China

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2020.106213Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Dinoflagellate cysts, freshwater algae and foraminiferal linings from the Tianluoshan site were investigated.

  • Three major phases shown by marine palymorphs were corresponding to sea-level fluctuations.

  • Marine regression processes occurred in the Tianluoshan site during the ca. 5 850-5 655 cal. yr BP.

Abstract

Sea-level fluctuation in a coastal plain setting was crucial for Neolithic human occupations of the Ningshao Coastal Plain in eastern China. In this study, we carry out analyses using detailed palynological records of dinoflagellate cysts (dinocysts), freshwater algae and foraminiferal organic linings from two sediment cores (HMD1501 and HMD1502) at the Tianluoshan archaeological site, Zhejiang Province, eastern China. Brief sea-level fluctuations and environmental changes on the Ningshao Coastal Plain during the Early to Mid-Holocene were recovered by using radiocarbon chronology. The results show the Tianluoshan site underwent marine transgression processes, and experienced warm and humid climatic conditions during the ca. 10, 708-5850 cal. yr BP. After that, there was a relatively cold and dry climate, marine regression processes occurred at the Tianluoshan site during the ca. 5850-5655 cal. yr BP, indicated by an abrupt increase in the cold-water species of dinoflagellates (especially O. centrocarpum), freshwater algae concentration and the ratio of pollen to dinoflagellates (P/D), with an abrupt decrease appeared in foraminifer linings concentration. Marine regression processes provided an opportunity for Hemudu ancestors to enter the Tianluoshan site, which helped create a brilliant Hemudu-Tianluoshan Culture on the Ningshao Coastal Plain.

Introduction

At present, more than 10 percent of the world population (McGranahan et al., 2007) live in low-altitude coastal plains and deltas (below 10 m in altitude). These regions are highly vulnerable and further exacerbated by human-induced sediment starvation and land sinking, sea-level rise and climate change (Nicholls and Cazenave, 2010; PAGES, 2009; Syvitski et al., 2009; Giosan et al., 2014). As sea level gradually fell, it created coastal environments that were attractive to human settlers (e.g., Innes et al., 2009; Song et al., 2013; Zong et al., 2013; Anthony et al., 2014). Low-altitude coastal sediments have experienced a dramatic evolution of depositional environment, which are valuable archives for the reconstruction of sea-level fluctuations, land-sea interactions and the impact of human activities (e.g., Kemp et al., 2011; Reynolds and Simms, 2015). In general, a relatively independent trajectory of Neolithic Cultures occurred on the Ningshao Coastal Plain during the Holocene. These Neolithic Cultures were represented by three major consecutive cultures: the Shangshan Culture (ca. 11 000-8 500 cal yr BP), Kuahuqiao Culture (ca. 8 000-7 400 cal yr BP) and Hemudu Culture (ca. 7 000-5 000 cal yr BP) during the Early to Mid-Holocene (Liu and Chen, 2012; Underhill, 2013). In particularly, the Hemudu Culture has been recognized as the most significant Neolithic Culture, which was featured by its distinct style of pile-dwellings and rice remains in eastern China (Sun, 2013). Therefore, the linkage between sea-level fluctuations and Neolithic occupations has attracted considerable attention on the Ningshao Coastal Plain (Wang and Liu, 2005; Zong et al., 2007; Chen et al., 2008; Liu and Chen, 2012; Wang et al., 2012; Liu et al., 2015; Dai et al., 2018; He et al., 2018; Liu et al., 2018; Wang et al., 2018; Huang et al., 2019; Ouyang et al., 2019; Xu et al., 2019). Although these previous studies have established a preliminary framework of Holocene landscape changes on the Ningshao Coastal Plain, due to the lack of high-quality data and direct evidence, so far, all of these published Holocene sea-level curves, the timings of marine transgressions and regressions are still unclear, and whether land processes or marine factors, or both, influenced the evolution of the Hemudu Culture are still controversial.

Distributions of modern dinoflagellate cysts (dinocysts) and planktonic foraminiferal fauna in marine environments are directly associated with upper water masses, sea-surface temperature, salinity, nitrate, phosphate, and other oceanographic variables (e.g., Rochon et al., 1999; Dale, 2009; de Vernal et al., 2005; Pospelova and Kim, 2010; Zonneveld et al., 2013). Therefore, organic-walled dinoflagellate cysts and foraminifer linings being preserved in sediments are commonly used as indicators for reconstructions of past sea-level fluctuations and oceanographic conditions (e.g., de Vernal et al., 2005; Zonneveld et al., 2008; Bringué et al., 2014; Pospelova et al., 2015).

In the present study, two sediment cores were taken from the Tianluoshan archaeological site, which is the closest site of the Hemudu Culture to the modern coastline. Palynological analyses (e.g., dinoflagellate cysts, freshwater algae and foraminiferal organic linings) were completed to clarify the marine transgression and regression processes by using radiocarbon chronology. Combining previous studies in this region, the relationships between sea-level fluctuations and Neolithic occupations on the Ningshao Coastal Plain during the Early to Mid-Holocene were also displayed.

Section snippets

Regional setting and site description

The Tianluoshan archaeological site (121°22′46″ E, 30°01′27″ N) is in Yuyao City of Zhejiang Province, which is 7 km from the Hemudu archaeological site (121°21.754′ E; 29°59.064′ N). It is a mud flat south of Hangzhou Bay, on the northeastern flank of the Ningshao Coastal Plain, about 30-40 km from the East China Sea (Fig. 1). In contemporary time, the Tianluoshan site (2-3 m above sea level) is surrounded by several low mountains, which exhibits marked seasonality due to its unique

Materials

The samples used in this study are from two sediment cores of HMD1501 (121°26'39.60"E, 29°55'48.23"N; 2.2 m above present-day sea level) and HMD1502 (121°21'20.75"E, 29°58'41.09"N; 2.3 m above present-day sea level) at the Tianluoshan site (Fig. 1), which represent two optimal stratigraphic sequences with thickness of 35 and 40 m, respectively. In total, 66 samples were collected from the two cores of HMD1501 and HMD1502s at 0.8-m interval, within the depth ranges of 0.61- 24.01 m (30 samples)

Sedimentary facies

In this study, the Early to Mid-Holocene stratigraphy of HMD1501 and HMD1502 cores was stratified into three units (Fig. 3; see Ouyang et al., 2019), based on lithological aspects, grain-size, texture, and marine shells (molluscs). 1) Unit 1, brown-gray clay with a large amount of marine shells, between 24.01 and 2.31 m in the core HMD1501 and between 29.61 and 4.41 m in the core HMD1502. 2) Unit 2, homogeneous dark-gray silty clay with obvious horizontal bedding between 2.31 and 1.01 m and

Dinoflagellate cysts

To better interpret the dinoflagellate cyst signal in the two sediment cores of HMD1501 and HMD1502, dinocyst taxa were divided into warm-water and cold-water species based on temperature ranges (e.g., Warny et al., 2003; Zonneveld et al., 2013), and categorized as autotrophic and heterotrophic taxa based on trophic strategies (e.g., Zonneveld and Pospelova, 2015). In addition, the ratio of heterotrophic to autotrophic taxa and the ratio of pollen to dinoflagellates were calculated.

Conclusions

Multiple proxies, including dinoflagellate cysts, foraminifer linings and freshwater algae from the two sediment cores of HMD1501 and HMD1502 clearly show the Early to Mid-Holocene sea-level fluctuations on the Ningshao Coastal Plain in eastern China. The Tianluoshan archaeological site underwent marine transgression processes, and experienced warm and humid climatic conditions during ca. 10 708-5 850 cal. yr BP, consistent with the Holocene Climate Optimum. Then, a relatively cold and dry

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41861020), Natural Science Foundation of Guangxi Province (No. 2018GXNSFAA281264), Guangxi Science and Technology Plan Project (No. AD19245018), Open Fund of Key Laboratory of Environment Change and Resources Use in Beibu Gulf, (No. GTEU-KLXTJJ-201712, NNNU-KLOP-X1919), Scientific Research Staring Foundation of Nanning Normal University (No. 0819-2017L23, 0819-2019L39), and Open Fund of Guangxi Key Laboratory of Earth

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