How climate change led to demise of once-thriving Chinese civilisation 4,500 years ago (Shijiahe civilization, which flourished along the middle Yangtze River from 2500 to 2000 BC, vibrant civilisation characterised by palaces, advanced engineering, and luxuries such as jade)
>If one were to travel to central China, in what is now Hubei province, 4,500 years ago, they might have been fortunate enough to discover a vibrant civilisation characterised by palaces, advanced engineering, and luxuries such as jade.
>However, in the generations that followed, this culture gradually declined, with its people dispersing across the region.
>Until now, the reasons behind the collapse of such a thriving civilisation were not well understood. A group of scientists now believe that the Shijiahe civilisation, which flourished along the middle Yangtze River from 2500 to 2000 BC, was ultimately undone by climate change, specifically a dramatic increase in flooding that rendered the region uninhabitable for any society.
>The team analysed data from a stalagmite in Heshang Cave in Hubei province, which, due to its low nutrient levels, has become a critical resource for reconstructing ancient climate models.
>The Oxford researchers collected chemical data from layers of a stalagmite in the cave to create a “rainfall yearbook.” They gathered 925 samples from a thousand-year period that coincided with the existence of the Shijiahe civilisation.
>Their findings revealed that the region experienced an extreme environmental and cultural shift around 3,950 years ago, which coincided with the year of the heaviest rainfall recorded in their climate yearbook.
>The two major “flooding periods” lasted for 140 years and 80 years respectively.
>The researchers detailed how expanding lakes engulfed farmland, ultimately making sustained settlement impossible.
>It appears that the Shijiahe people had adapted their millet cultivation to thrive during dry seasons but struggled to grow the grain during excessively rainy periods.
>The region’s waterlogging led to a significant decline in archaeological evidence, which the team indicated points to a population drop. Without modern water management technologies, the population was forced to migrate, leading to the abandonment of all Shijiahe urban centres.
>As the Shijiahe faded, the region was eventually absorbed by the Shang dynasty.