Abstract:

Holocene aeolian deposits in the Mu Us Sandy Land provide a chance for exploring the relationship between climate change and civilization evolution. Based on the analysis of the magnetic parameters， chromaticity， CaCO₃ content and grain size of the ZS section during the middle to late Holocene in the eastern Mu Us Sandy Land， we reconstructed the history of environmental changes in the region and preliminarily discussed the impacts of climate change on the civilization evolution. The results show that the region has experienced a warm and humid period （6 800-5 500 cal a BP）， a warm and dry period （5 500-4 000 cal a BP） and a relatively warm and humid period （4 000-1 500 cal a BP）. The large expansion of Yangshao culture （6 800-5 500 cal a BP） in the eastern Mu Us Sandy Land is consistent with the warm and humid climate， and there are a large number of sites； in the late Yangshao and Longshan periods （5 500-4 000 cal a BP）， the climate changed frequently and the culture was complex and diverse， during this period， the decline of Yangshao civilization and the expansion of Longshan culture were experienced， but the number of sites increased continuously as a whole； the Bronze and Iron age and the Qin and Han Dynasties （4 000-1 543 cal a BP）， the cultures of various nationalities developed together， population activities are frequent， and economic and transportation have developed well. The results show that the rise and fall of civilization is affected by environmental evolution. The rise and fall of civilization is consistent with environmental change in time， but the response of civilization evolution to climate change lags in a short period of time.

Key words: middle late Holocene, climate change, rise and fall of civilization, Mu Us Sandy Land