Scientists have found out the cause of the death of the ancient civilization of Shijiahe in China

An international group of scientists has established that the Neolithic civilization of Shijiahe, which existed in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, ceased to exist about 4.6 thousand years ago due to prolonged extreme rains and large-scale floods. This is stated in a study published in the journal National Science Reviews (NSR).

The study, carried out with the participation of Oxford University and the Chinese University of Geosciences in Wuhan, put an end to years of debate about the causes of the decline of the Shijiahe culture. Previously, archaeologists considered versions of a military conflict with the population of the Central Plains or a gradual social crisis, but new evidence points to a climate catastrophe as a key factor.

The Shijahe civilization was one of the most developed in Neolithic China. It was distinguished by a complex system of defensive structures, palatial architecture, advanced water management, and advanced production of jade products and ceramics. Nevertheless, about 3,950 years before the present, archaeological evidence records a sharp decline in population and the almost complete abandonment of central settlements in the Yangtze Valley.

The HS4 stalagmite from the Hashan Cave in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River became a key source of data. According to the head of the study, Dr. Jin Liao, the scientists conducted 925 high-precision isotope measurements, reconstructing year after year the history of precipitation over thousands of years. This "chronicle archive of rains" made it possible to directly compare climatic changes with archaeological layers.

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The reconstruction showed an alternation of dry and extremely wet periods. Two intervals with precipitation exceeding 1,000 mm per year, lasting 80 and 140 years, became the most destructive. They coincide with the expansion of swamps, regular floods and a sharp reduction in the material traces of the Shijiahe culture.

The most critical stage began about 3,950 years ago and lasted for almost a century and a half. During this period, excessive precipitation caused uncontrolled expansion of lakes, flooding of lowlands, and a sharp reduction in areas suitable for agriculture and habitation. According to the authors of the work, the burden on the infrastructure and adaptive capabilities of society turned out to be insurmountable, which led to a massive relocation of the population to elevated peripheral areas.

Co-author of the study, Professor Gideon Henderson, emphasizes that the work demonstrates that not only droughts, but also periods of excessive precipitation posed a deadly threat to ancient societies. According to scientists, the findings are also important for modern times, since the precipitation level that led to the collapse of Shijiahe turned out to be lower than the extreme values recorded in the region over the past hundred years.

The online platform Arkeonews reported in November last year that archaeologists from the University of Arizona discovered a huge ritual complex of Aguada Phoenix hidden underground for more than 3 thousand years in the Mexican state of Tabasco. The discovery changes the understanding of the origins of Mesoamerican civilization — the first grandiose structures of the region were built without monarchs and centralized authority.

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