Precise chronology of hydrological changes at ∼4.2 kyr in Central China to assess the impact of flooding on Neolithic societies

A lack of quantitative rainfall reconstruction has hindered understanding of the role of hydrological disturbances at ∼4.2 kyr BP (1000 years before present) in the collapse of the Shijiahe culture-an advanced Neolithic society in the Middle Yangtze Valley (MYV). We provide a quantitative paleohydrology reconstruction for the period 4.6-3.5 kyr BP by using calcium isotopes, trace elements and δ¹³C from an annually laminated stalagmite from the MYV. Our reconstructed rainfall shows three drier intervals with rainfall of <700 mm/yr (4.36-4.33 kyr BP, 4.23-4.10 kyr BP, 3.57-3.55 kyr BP) and two wetter intervals with rainfall of >1000 mm/yr (3.95-3.84 kyr BP, 3.70-3.59 kyr BP), with suggestions of tripole/dipole rainfall patterns. Combined with archaeological and paleoflood evidence, these data suggest that the Shijiahe culture underwent transformation during drier periods, but abandoned the region when the rainfall was >1000 mm/yr. This robust, multiproxy record demonstrates that water excess could be as problematic as water shortage, even for advanced civilizations, and contributes to understanding hydrological perturbations at ∼4.2 kyr BP.