We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Prehistoric population expansion in Central Asia promoted by the Altai Holocene Climatic Optimum.
- Authors
Xiang, Lixiong; Huang, Xiaozhong; Sun, Mingjie; Panizzo, Virginia N.; Huang, Chong; Zheng, Min; Chen, Xuemei; Chen, Fahu
- Abstract
How climate change in the middle to late Holocene has influenced the early human migrations in Central Asian Steppe remains poorly understood. To address this issue, we reconstructed a multiproxy-based Holocene climate history from the sediments of Kanas Lake and neighboring Tiewaike Lake in the southern Altai Mountains. The results show an exceptionally warm climate during ~6.5–3.6 kyr is indicated by the silicon isotope composition of diatom silica (δ30Sidiatom) and the biogenic silica (BSi) content. During 4.7-4.3 kyr, a peak in δ30Sidiatom reflects enhanced lake thermal stratification and periodic nutrient limitation as indicated by concomitant decreasing BSi content. Our geochemical results indicate a significantly warm and wet climate in the Altai Mountain region during 6.5–3.6 kyr, corresponding to the Altai Holocene Climatic Optimum (AHCO), which is critical for promoting prehistoric human population expansion and intensified cultural exchanges across the Central Asian steppe during the Bronze Age. The impact of climate change on Holocene human activity in the Altai-Sayan region of Central Asia is unclear. Here, the authors use pollen, biogenic silica, and isotope records from lake cores to show that the climate prompted human population expansion and intensified cultural exchange during the Bronze Age.
- Subjects
CENTRAL Asia; ALTAI Mountains; HOLOCENE Epoch; SILICON isotopes; GLOBAL warming; MOUNTAIN climate; LAKE sediments; HUMAN migrations; FOSSIL diatoms
- Publication
Nature Communications, 2023, Vol 14, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
2041-1723
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1038/s41467-023-38828-4