Prehistoric population expansion in Central Asia promoted by the Altai Holocene Climatic Optimum

Xiang, Lixiong; Huang, Xiaozhong; Sun, Mingjie; Panizzo, Virginia N.; Huang, Chong; Zheng, Min; Chen, Xuemei; Chen, Fahu

Abstract

How climate change in the middle to late Holocene has influenced the early human migrations in Central Asian Steppe remains poorly understood. To address this issue, we reconstructed a multiproxy-based Holocene climate history from the sediments of Kanas Lake and neighboring Tiewaike Lake in the southern Altai Mountains. The results show an exceptionally warm climate during ~6.5–3.6 kyr is indicated by the silicon isotope composition of diatom silica (δ30Si diatom) and the biogenic silica (BSi) content. During 4.7-4.3 kyr, a peak in δ30Si diatom reflects enhanced lake thermal stratification and periodic nutrient limitation as indicated by concomitant decreasing BSi content. Our geochemical results indicate a significantly warm and wet climate in the Altai Mountain region during 6.5–3.6 kyr, corresponding to the Altai Holocene Climatic Optimum (AHCO), which is critical for promoting prehistoric human population expansion and intensified cultural exchanges across the Central Asian steppe during the Bronze Age.

Citation

Xiang, L., Huang, X., Sun, M., Panizzo, V. N., Huang, C., Zheng, M., Chen, X., & Chen, F. (2023). Prehistoric population expansion in Central Asia promoted by the Altai Holocene Climatic Optimum. Nature Communications, 14(1), Article 3102. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38828-4

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 17, 2023
• Online Publication Date: May 29, 2023
• Publication Date: May 29, 2023
• Deposit Date: May 30, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: May 30, 2023
• Journal: Nature Communications
• Electronic ISSN: 2041-1723
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 14
• Issue: 1
• Article Number: 3102
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38828-4
• Keywords: General Physics and Astronomy; General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology; General Chemistry; Multidisciplinary
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/21366381
• Publisher URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-38828-4