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Field photograph of cliff sections from the archaeological sites (Modified after Jha et al., 2020). A. Paleosol within the gravel unit at the Deoghat site. B. Paleosols units at the Koldihwa site. C. Silty-clay dominated paleosol unit at the Mahagara site. D. Composite paleosol units at Chillahia site. E. Mound structure unit deposited above quartzite beds near paleo-channel of the Belan river at the Chopani-Mando site and F. Fine-grained paleosols unit at Main Belan site (~15 m). The yellow lines demarcate lithological unit.
Abstract:
The Quaternary fluvial sequences of the Belan river in north-central India preserves the signature of prehistoric human settlement from Paleolithic to Neolithic interval. The settlement history in the Belan valley has been attributed to be driven by climatic fluctuations, although quantitative climate data from the valley is lacking. For the first time, we have analysed oxygen and carbon isotopes in soil carbonates (δ18OSC and δ13CSC) and hydrogen and carbon isotopes in n-alkane of paleosol (δDC29 and δ13CC29) from chronologically well-constrained six archaeological sites to understand the climate-cultural relationship. The chronological sequences were refined by Bayesian statistics using ChronoModel 1.5. The δDC29 and δ18OSC values, proxies for rainfall, indicate two phases of isotopic depletion during ∼100 to 75 ka and ∼18 to 3 ka implying intensification of monsoon. During ∼75 to 25 ka, the δDC29 and δ18OSC values show fluctuation in the monsoonal rainfall. Higher δDC29 and δ18OSC values during ∼25 to 18 ka suggest an arid environment, which corresponds to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The present study suggests that climate was the driving force for fluvial incision and aggradation at a regional scale during ∼100 to 3 ka. The δ13CC29 and δ13CSC values suggest that the C4 plants dominated in a mixed C3-C4 environment between ∼75 and 25 ka. The abundance of C4 plants sharply decreased during the early-Holocene. Comparison between climatic conditions and the temporal variation in the number of archaeological sites suggest climate-driven shifts in population density or local migration of prehistoric humans during the Middle Paleolithic to Early Neolithic phase.
Comparison of isotopic data (A and B) with archaeological evidence of population changes (C; Sharma et al., 1980; Misra, 1997) and fluvial response during the Late Quaternary (D; Modified after Neudorf et al., 2014). The blue and yellow color (D) indicates the incision and aggradation process, respectively, in the river basin. The number of archaeological sites during the Late Middle to Upper Paleolithic and Early Neolithic phases is collected from Sharma et al. (1980) and Misra (1997). The comparison suggets the climate-driven change in prehistoric human population and disparity in the fluvial style of deposition at regional scale.
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