It remains unclear how hunter-gatherers used plant resources to adapt to climate change during the LGM in southern China. In this study, new pollen and archaeobotanical results from Weijia Cave were used to analyse vegetation-climate change and plant exploitation of hunter-gatherers, then fossil pollen dataset and archaeological data from across China were used to evaluate the potential of nuts in the adaptation of hunter-gatherers to climate change during the LGM. Pollen analysis results show that vegetation around Weijia Cave was dominated by coniferous trees and the climate was quite cold during ca. 30000–19500 cal yr BP; the reduction of coniferous trees and the increase of broad-leaved trees suggested a warm trend in climate during ca. 19500–12500 cal yr BP. The hunter-gatherers at Weijia Cave adopted a plant exploitation strategy of diversified resource utilization centred on fat-rich nuts at the end of MIS 3, then transitioned to intensified tannin-rich acorn exploitation during the LGM to cope with the severe climate conditions. The sustained high-coverage of nut trees in southern China provided the hunter-gatherers with a low-cost adaptive strategy to address winter food shortages through prioritized nut exploitation during the LGM.

The Salawusu River basin preserves an important record of Late Pleistocene hominin presence, crucial for understanding early human survival and migration in the semi-arid regions of East Asia. At the Shaojiagouwan site, located within this basin, abundant mammalian fossils and stone tools have been discovered. We conducted optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating, together with sediment grain size and pollen analyses, to establish a chronological framework and reconstruct the paleoenvironmental context. The sedimentary sequence is characterized by fluvial deposits, with OSL ages constraining the site's occupation to between 62.2 and 49.3 ka, spanning Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 4 and 3. Evidence of hominin presence, however, is confined to 63.1-57.3 ka and can be divided into two phases. Pollen data indicate that the regional vegetation was predominantly arid steppe, reflecting a generally cold and dry climate, although conditions during early MIS 3 were relatively warmer and wetter than during MIS 4. Within this framework, three millennial-scale warm and humid phases are identified at approximately 62-61 ka, 57.5-56.5 ka, and 54-53 ka, separated by longer intervals of arid and cold climate. Our findings suggest that early humans inhabited this semi-arid region during these relatively favorable climatic optima, and may have dispersed from the area during colder and more arid intervals. The Shaojiagouwan site thus demonstrates that early humans were capable of occupying semi-arid landscapes even during the cold MIS 4 period. There may have been climate fluctuations on a millennial timescale, which have had a significant impact on human presence in the region.

Historical narratives hold that sericulture originated in China and spread along the Silk Road roughly two millennia ago. In questioning this assumption, we conducted micromorphological and proteomics analyses on three cocoons recovered from the Sapalli Tepe (approximately 2000 to 1500 BCE) site in Uzbekistan. We identified them as Bombyx mori, directly dated to 1940 to 1765 cal. BCE, representing the earliest remains of Bombyx cocoons. We further report the earliest mulberry (Morus sp.) charcoal fragments from Central Asia, attesting to mulberry-Bombyx sericulture in the Oxus nearly 2000 years earlier than previously documented. We highlight that early silkworms and mulberry trees may have been introduced to Central Asia along the southern slope of the Himalayas, although other routes could also plausibly explain the observed pattern. This multidisciplinary research rewrites the enigmatic history of early sericulture and its globalization.

Understanding how Late Cretaceous hydroclimatic variability affected dinosaur-bearing terrestrial ecosystems is important for evaluating environmental changes before the end-Cretaceous extinction at 66 Ma. However, the causal links among regional hydroclimate, habitat stability, and local dinosaur evolution remain insufficiently constrained. Here, we apply rock-magnetic and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) analyses to a well-dated latest Cretaceous succession in the Shanyang Basin, central China, where a robust chronological framework, dinosaur eggshell record, and environmental magnetic record have been established. AMS fabrics reveal a coherent center-to-margin hydrodynamic pattern: normal fabrics in the depositional center indicate relatively persistent moderate-energy flow, disordered fabrics in the transitional zone suggest unstable hydrodynamic conditions, and inverse fabrics along the eastern basin margin are consistent with relatively high-energy tractional processes. These results suggest that inverse magnetic fabrics in fluviolacustrine deposits may reflect hydrodynamic grain reorganization rather than exclusively tectonic strain. Integrating AMS, sedimentological, dinosaur fossils, and environmental magnetic records, we infer that relatively stable floodplain environments during similar to 68.2-66.8 Ma likely favored nesting and egg incubation, whereas progressively intensified precipitation and hydrodynamic disturbance after similar to 66.8 Ma may have reduced the persistence of suitable floodplain nesting habitats. The Shanyang Basin record therefore suggests that regional hydroclimatic instability may have affected local-scale habitat suitability for dinosaurs before the end-Cretaceous extinction, and highlights the value of AMS for reconstructing basin-scale hydrodynamic processes in terrestrial settings.

The gathering and use of ochre is a common behavior documented among Late Pleistocene human populations across the globe. Yet ochre use in the Paleolithic archaeological record of China remains poorly understood. Here we report on 36 pieces of ochre and 21 lithic artifacts with ochre residues from the archaeological deposits in Fodongdi Cave, Yunnan Province. These ochre finds, recovered from a succession of well-dated stratigraphic layers, offer an opportunity to discuss ochre use during the terminal Pleistocene in southwest China between 18,400 and 14,000 cal BP. We characterized the ochre assemblage using a combination of optical microscopy, thin section analysis, portable X-ray fluorescence, laser-induced breakdown and Raman spectrographic techniques, alongside scanning electron microscopy (with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy). Results indicate at least three petrographic and chemically distinct groups of locally available ochre were used (presumably as red pigments). The ochre assemblage contains 27 pieces with clear anthropogenic modification including microstriations within grooves, parallel striations with polish, as well as smoothed areas with microstriations and luster. Use-wear traces and ochre residues on processing tools indicates that ochre was ground on grindstones and rubbed on soft materials, with quartzite pebbles used to process ochre before the pebbles were themselves flaked (used for tool stone). The Fodongdi Cave study provides novel information for southern China, suggesting the selection of local ochre sources, their processing directly onto grindstones and by rubbing against soft surfaces such as hide or human skin at the site, and the collection and use of different proportions of (local) ochres during the terminal Pleistocene.

Using organic carbon isotope (S13CTOC) and total organic carbon (TOC) records from Core G3, Tianjin, together with published pollen records, we reconstruct vegetation evolution on the North China Plain over the past 2.0 Ma and examine its relationship with long-term orbital variability. Positive excursions in S13CTOC, reflecting changes in vegetation and organic-matter sources, broadly coincide with long-eccentricity minima, reduced global mean surface temperature (ZGMST), and lower atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Spectral analyses reveal a relatively persistent 405-kyr cycle in the G3 S13CTOC record, suggesting that long-eccentricity pacing may have contributed to orbital-scale vegetation variability over the past 2.0 Ma. Pollen records further suggest that vegetation patterns may reflect the combined influence of regional hydroclimatic variability and global orbital-scale climate change. Long-eccentricity variability may have indirectly influenced vegetation dynamics through temperature changes and climate-carbon cycle feedbacks, suggesting a possible link between orbital-scale climate change and longterm ecosystem evolution in East Asia.

Since the Holocene, marked transformations have occurred in patterns of human activity and modes of subsistence, with agriculture progressively becoming the principal means by which human societies modified and adapted to natural environments and sustained social development. The North China Plain (NCP) serves as the core region for the origin of millet agriculture in northern China and remains a pivotal area for understanding the genesis and evolution of Chinese civilization. By analyzing plant macrofossils from three sites—Zhujia, Dalaidian, and Wangzhuang—in the Qihe River basin (QRB), and integrating with crop assemblages from 54 representative sites across the North China Plain, this study systematically examines the synchrony between the evolution of Neolithic agricultural structures and climatic change in the region. The results demonstrate that multiple drought events had varying impacts on millet and rice agricultural systems in the NCP throughout the Neolithic period. Early communities responded to abrupt climatic perturbations by strategically adjusting agricultural structures to secure stable food supplies, thereby ensuring the sustained development of their societies. Furthermore, confronted with recurrent Neolithic drought events, prehistoric communities adopted diverse adaptive strategies, with their adaptive capacity progressively strengthening over time.

Charcoal, a primary product of fires, can be examined for its morphological traits to help distinguish between fuel sources, which is useful for understanding the relationship between regional vegetation environments and fire regimes. However, current research on charcoal morphology heavily relies on lab-based simulation experiments, lacking sufficient empirical data from natural wildfires. This study focuses on the morphological characteristics of charcoal formed under wildfire from four distinct vegetation types, including evergreen coniferous forests, warm-humid herbs, evergreen broad-leaf forests, and grasslands. All the charcoal samples were extracted using a standardized pollen methodology. And the parameters of charcoal, such as length, width, and area, were measured by ImageJ software. The findings indicate variations in charcoal size across different ecosystems. The length-to-width (L/W) ratio of charcoal alone is insufficient for reliable classification of fuel types. To address this issue, a decision tree model was crafted to categorize charcoal types, achieving an accuracy rate of 72.44%. This paper presents a thorough examination of charcoal morphology from diverse vegetation, offering insights into fuel type identification based on charcoal characteristics as well as into the intricate interactions between vegetation and wildfire dynamics. It also provides essential reference data for accurate environmental interpretation of charcoal records from geological periods.

Located in the foothills of the Tianshan Mountains, the Adunqiaolu site (c.1800‒1300 BCE) represents one of the easternmost extensions of the Andronovo Cultural Complex. Through analyses of 4,800 fragments of wood charcoal and 44 seed remains from the site, our study illustrates the plant utilization strategies and construction techniques adopted by these early transhumant agropastoralists, offering direct insights into how humans coped with the harsh environment of the arid Inner Asian mountains. Our findings reveal that the inhabitants mainly exploited riparian vegetation as their wood resources, while coniferous forest remains were present only in limited amount. Moreover, growth ring curvature measurements indicate that distinct collection strategies based on wood species were adopted, with people selectively harvesting branches or twigs from riparian plants but utilising trunks of spruce trees. Riparian branches were primarily used as fuel but also intentionally incorporated into domestic structures, where narrow willow branches (mostly 2–5 cm in diameter) were arranged within double-layered walls for reinforcement. In contrast, spruce remains were dispersed throughout the dwelling showing no evidence of specialized use. We conclude that by the second millennium BCE, agropastoralist communities in the Tianshan Mountains were already actively engaging with the local ecosystem, strategically utilising available woody resources to sustain their livelihoods in a challenging landscape.

The Neolithic period was accompanied by fundamental changes in the lifestyles, subsistence strategies, social structures, and belief systems of human societies. One of the most important reflections of these developments can be observed in burial rituals and behaviors related to death. Archaeological excavations at the Zardali Neolithic site in Uzbekistan have led to the identification of Neolithic cultural layers and a human burial, which has become the main subject of this research due to its importance in the study of the prehistory of Central Asia. The aim of this research is to introduce the Zardali site and examine the characteristics of mortuary practices and death-related rituals in the late Neolithic period of Central Asia. The excavations revealed a human burial in a simple pit grave lacking funerary architecture, in which the skeleton was buried in a flexed position on the left side. Comparing the Zardali burial with other Neolithic burials in Central Asia shows that this burial is more similar to the burial tradition of the Hissar culture in terms of body position, simplicity of the grave, and lack of grave goods. Direct dating of this burial helps refine the chronological framework of Neolithic burials in Central Asia and allows for a more detailed examination of the chronology and variability of burial traditions in the region. The results of this study also indicate that differences in burial rituals were likely related to differences in subsistence strategies, social organization, and environmental conditions of Neolithic societies in the region; such that the agricultural communities of Jeitun, the mountain and intermontane communities of the Hissar Culture, and the groups associated with the riverine and wetland environments of Kelteminar each developed different mortuary traditions.

Perennial woody crops play crucial roles in global food security and food system diversification, yet they have long been overlooked in archaeobotanical research, constraining our understanding of their domestication trajectories, dispersal pathways, and the social-ecological conditions underlying these processes. The peach (Prunus persica), with its abundant archaeobotanical record and established genomic resources, provides an ideal model to address this challenge. Here, we conduct an integrated analysis of similar to 1,000 well-preserved endocarps from the Jingtoushan site (8.0-7.7 ka BP) in the Lower Yangtze, combining ecological and paleoenvironmental approaches to demonstrate early utilization within its suitable range. Variations in endocarp morphology and abundance correlate with environmental changes and subsistence shifts, suggesting that ecological suitability and human strategies shape the early peach use as a seasonal nutritional supplement. Coefficients of variation in peach endocarp metrics suggest incipient management as early as 8000 years ago. A synthesis of multidisciplinary evidence reconciles competing genetic and archaeological perspectives on peach origin, thus establishing a domestication process that includes a prolonged pre-domestication management phase. These findings provide one of the oldest and most continuous pre-domestication utilities of perennial crops, enabling insights into human-environment interactions shaping early crop management and domestication. They also provide an interdisciplinary perspective on agricultural origins and germplasm resource conservation for future investigations.

The Fergana Valley has been a crucial passage for cultural exchange since the Middle Holocene. Despite numerous archaeological discoveries, research on the subsistence patterns of its populations remains limited. In this study, carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis was applied to human skeletal remains from the Iron Age Khanabad-1 cemetery in the eastern Fergana Valley. This provides the first small subset reconstruction of dietary patterns for the local population around 2000 BP. The preliminary results indicate an average delta 13C value of -17.9%o, confirming a C3 dominated mixed plant intake. The average delta 15N value of 10.0%o is approximately 3.0%o higher than that of contemporaneous livestock in the surrounding area, suggesting a modest level of animal protein consumption. Considering the local environment of the Khanabad-1 cemetery and the artifacts recovered from the graves, we infer that agriculture formed the important part in the local population subsistence system. The diet was mainly composed of C3 plants, supplemented by C4 plants and animal resources. This dietary structure represents a transitional pattern between the mountain agropastoral populations and the oasis agricultural populations during the Bronze to Iron Age in the region. Notably, it closely resembles the isotopic records of the medieval agricultural populations in the Fergana Valley. This similarity may demonstrate both the connections between local agricultural groups, the agropastoral populations of the IAMC, and the oasis agricultural societies, as well as the continuity of local dietary traditions over time.

In the past, establishing a clear chronology for the Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic periods in eastern Mazandaran proved challenging. A major obstacle had been the lack of radiocarbon dating. Previous dates provided by Coon and McBurney were not considered reliable, even after recalibrations. However, over the last fifteen years, new archaeological fieldwork and research have significantly enhanced our understanding of these periods. Recent excavations at the PN sites of Touq Tappeh and Tappeh Valiki have provided new information about the Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic chronology and dating. The sites yielded the oldest dating of the PN in northeastern Iran so far, making the PN of eastern Mazandaran start at least from the first half of the 7th millennium BC and lasted until the early 6th millennium BC (c. 6600-5800 BC). While Tappeh Valiki represents the oldest dates, the PN periods may have started in the region even earlier, given the presence of potteries from the lowest layers of the site. Analysis of the available material from these sites through dating indicates strong regional connections, while also showing inter-regional connections. The new dating from the old and new Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic sites of eastern Mazandaran suggests there is no gap between them, which is not surprising given the favorable environment during the early Holocene.

Scholars are increasingly favoring models for the origins of agriculture that involve a protracted process of increasing interdependence within a series of mutualistic relationships between humans and plants, as opposed to a rapid single event or innovation. Nonetheless, these scholars continue to debate over when people first started foraging for grass seeds, when they began to readily utilize sickles, how prominent the early selection pressures were, and when the first traits of domestication fully introgressed into the cultivated grass population. Here, we present complementary archaeobotanical and archaeological (stone tool) evidence for cereal foragers from Toda-1 Cave in the Surkhan Darya, dating to 9200 cal BP. We conclude that early Holocene foragers were processing grains along with nuts and fruits as far north as the rich river valleys of southern Uzbekistan. These data expand the known range that preagricultural cereal foragers covered in the early Holocene, adding to our understanding of the cultural processes that led to farming. Additionally, we present the earliest evidence for people interacting with the progenitors for pistachios and apples (or a close apple relative). The complex foraging behaviors that led to cultivation were being undertaken by people during the early Holocene across a wider area of Eurasia than previously thought.

The Central Asian (CA) steppe ecosystem and its fauna experienced a marked transition during the Miocene Climatic Optimum (MCO), though the specific process and dynamics remain elusive. We selected the Duolebulejin (DLB) section within the Junggar Basin to reconstruct vegetation and climate changes, using proxies such as particle size, mammalian fossils, and previously reported data including pollen, delta 13CTOC, and magnetic susceptibility. The results reveal three distinct phases of transformation in regional vegetation and fauna from 18.8 to 13.2 Ma. During the pre-MCO (18.8-17.0 Ma), the landscape was dominated by desert scrubland, primarily inhabited by rodents. The MCO (17.0-14.5 Ma) witnessed a shift towards steppe vegetation, initially with herbaceous taxa followed by the establishment of C4 plants, alongside a diversity of large mammals adapted to open habitats. This suggests the emergence of savanna-like woodland steppes. In the post-MCO (14.5-13.2 Ma), the region transitioned to a dry steppe, accompanied by a decline in animal populations, although a significant proportion of species remained adapted to steppe environments. These findings underscore a co-evolutionary relationship between the development of steppe ecosystems and mammalian adaptations, driven by global MCO warming and subsequent cooling, with regional hydroclimatic changes acting as a modulating factor. The steppe-fauna biome emerged in the Junggar Basin during the MCO warming, with mechanisms resembling those of tropical savannas in the late Miocene. These insights enhance our understanding of early steppe ecosystem evolution through past warming periods, shedding light on the pathways to modern steppe formation.

The Paleogene deposits in the Erlian Basin are nearly continuous from the upper Paleocene to the lower Oligocene, and most Eocene Asian Land Mammal Ages were proposed on the basis of the corresponding mammal faunas from different formations in the basin. However, the correlation and extension of some lithologic units are complex and controversial in this region due to the spatial variation of the terrestrial sediments and a complex research history for more than a century. In the past decades, we have clarified the definition and correlation of the late Paleocene through early middle Eocene deposits in Huheboerhe area, but those of the middle to late Eocene deposits in Shara Murun region still remain disputable. The Ulan Gochu Formation, which was initially referred to a set of red clay at the typical Ulan Gochu locality, was considered to extend for a much wider range at the Bayan Obo (= Twin Oboes) and Jhama Obo sections with description of new materials of Eomoropus major and Brachyhyops neimengolensis. Deposits exposed at the Bayan Obo section can be subdivided into the Tukhum, Shara Murun, Ulan Gochu, and Baron Sog formations, totally about 70 m in thickness. The exposed strata at the Jhama Obo section can be subdivided into partial Shara Murun, Ulan Gochu, and Baron Sog formations, about 50 m in total thickness. The lithostratigraphic correlation and faunal compositions of the East Mesa are discussed based on our recent fieldworks and CAE collection records. Furthermore, the late middle Eocene Ulangochuian ALMA can be divided into Ug(1) and Ug(2), based on the mammal faunas from the upper member of the Shara Murun Formation and the Ulan Gochu Formation, respectively. The Ulangochuian is roughly correlated to the Duchesnean NALMA.

The lacustrine to deltaic depositional systems of the Upper Jurassic Qigu Formation in the Yongjin area constitute a significant petroleum reservoir in the central Junggar Basin, China. Based on core observations, petrology analyses, paleoenvironment indicators and modern sedimentary analyses, sequence stratigraphy, lithofacies associations, sedimentary environment, evolution, and models were investigated. The Qigu Formation can be divided into a third-order sequence consisting of a lowstand systems tract (LST) and a transgressive systems tract (TST), which is further subdivided into six fourth-order sequences. Thirteen lithofacies and five lithofacies associations were identified, corresponding to shallow-water delta-front deposits. The paleoenvironment of the Qigu Formation is generally characterized by an arid freshwater environment, with a dysoxic to oxic environment. During the LST depositional period (SQ1–SQ3), the water depth was relatively shallow with abundant sediment supply, resulting in a widespread distribution of channel and mouth bar deposits. During the TST depositional period (SQ4–SQ6), the rapid rise in base level, combined with reduced sediment supply, resulted in swift delta retrogradation and widespread lacustrine sedimentation. Combined with modern sedimentary analysis, the shallow-water delta in the study area primarily comprises a composite system of single main channels and distributary channel-mouth bar complexes. The channel-bar complex eventually forms radially distributed bar assemblages with lateral incision and stacking. The distributary channel could incise a mouth bar deeply or shallowly, typically forming architectural patterns of going over or in the mouth bar. Reservoir test data suggest that the mouth bar sandstones are favorable targets for lithological reservoir exploration in shallow-water deltas.

The dried-up lake bed of Lop Nur is a well-known example of environmental change in arid Central Asia (ACA) and witnessed the rise and fall of a major Silk Road civilization. However, a lack of interdisciplinary analyses, quantitative climate data together with inadequate characterization of the desert vegetation has hindered a comprehensive understanding of past vegetation and environmental changes in the region. Here we perform a high-resolution analysis of pollen, grain size, stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes from a 617-cm sediment core from Lop Nur to reconstruct vegetational and environmental changes between similar to 23.3 to 7.2 cal kyr BP and understand their potential drivers. Results show that variations in solar activity and westerlies drove water circulation in the region, triggering an alternateon between temperate shrubby desert and temperate semi-shrubby/dwarf semi-shrubby desert, accompanied by the fluctuations in lake level fed by alpine meltwater. Lake organic matter was mainly derived from aquatic vascular plants and phytoplankton in the latest Pleistocene (similar to 23.3-11.6 cal kyr BP), but shifted to a greater diversity of sources (soil, C-3 terrestrial plants, aquatic vascular plants and phytoplankton) in the early to middle Holocene (11.6-7.2 cal kyr BP), while the nitrogen levels in the lake sediment were mainly controlled by soil erosion, and only marginally influenced by atmospheric nitrogen deposition. These findings provide a past analog for the prediction of future environmental change and ecosystem sustainable development in ACA under the scenario of global change.