Late Pleistocene monsoon variability in northwest Thailand: an oxygen isotope sequence from the bivalve Margaritanopsis laosensis excavated in Mae Hong Son province
Long, continuous records of Late Quaternary environmental change are rare in Southeast Asia, yet they are crucial for understanding the nature of early human dispersal and occupation in the Australasian region. We present a new record of palaeomonsoon activity extending back to 35,000 BP (years befo...
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Online Access: | https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:730228 |
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ftunivqespace:oai:espace.library.uq.edu.au:UQ:730228 2023-05-15T17:36:34+02:00 Late Pleistocene monsoon variability in northwest Thailand: an oxygen isotope sequence from the bivalve Margaritanopsis laosensis excavated in Mae Hong Son province Marwick, Ben Gagan, Michael K. 2011-10-01 https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:730228 eng eng Pergamon Press doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2011.07.007 issn:0277-3791 issn:1873-457X orcid:0000-0002-8279-323X Archaeology Freshwater bivalve Geochemistry Late Pleistocene Oxygen-18 Palaeomonsoon Thailand 1105 Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics 1204 Archaeology 1907 Geology 2306 Global and Planetary Change 3302 Archaeology Journal Article 2011 ftunivqespace https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2011.07.007 2020-08-06T08:38:38Z Long, continuous records of Late Quaternary environmental change are rare in Southeast Asia, yet they are crucial for understanding the nature of early human dispersal and occupation in the Australasian region. We present a new record of palaeomonsoon activity extending back to 35,000 BP (years before the present), based on the analysis of oxygen isotope ratios (δO) in the freshwater bivalve Margaritanopsis laosensis excavated from the Tham Lod and Ban Rai rockshelters in Mae Hong Son Province, northwest Thailand. Long-term changes in the M. laosensis δO record reflect changes in the δO of the river water in which these organisms grew, and correlate well with changes in speleothem δO records of east Asian monsoon rainfall from Hulu Cave and Dongge Cave in China. The new northwest Thailand δO sequence indicates wetter and relatively unstable climatic conditions from 35,000 to 20,000 BP, followed by drier conditions from 20,000 to 11,500 BP. A period of peak aridity occurred around 15,600 BP during Heinrich Event 1, suggesting that the intertropical convergence zone shifted southward when the North Atlantic region cooled. However, there is little evidence for the Younger Dryas event at ∼12,800-11,500 BP. After 9,800 BP, precipitation increased substantially and climatic variability declined. Our findings provide an improved baseline against which to gauge interactions between early humans and climate change in Southeast Asia. For example, there was no significant change in the prehistoric flake stone technology used at Tham Lod and Ban Rai despite the bivalve δO evidence for substantial climate change in the region. Also, the climatic impact of the Younger Dryas event appears to have been less intense in northwest Thailand compared to the cooling and drying observed in China, and may explain why agriculture made a relatively late appearance in Thailand, possibly involving migrants from China. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic The University of Queensland: UQ eSpace Hulu ENVELOPE(8.610,8.610,62.837,62.837) Quaternary Science Reviews 30 21-22 3088 3098 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
The University of Queensland: UQ eSpace |
op_collection_id |
ftunivqespace |
language |
English |
topic |
Archaeology Freshwater bivalve Geochemistry Late Pleistocene Oxygen-18 Palaeomonsoon Thailand 1105 Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics 1204 Archaeology 1907 Geology 2306 Global and Planetary Change 3302 Archaeology |
spellingShingle |
Archaeology Freshwater bivalve Geochemistry Late Pleistocene Oxygen-18 Palaeomonsoon Thailand 1105 Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics 1204 Archaeology 1907 Geology 2306 Global and Planetary Change 3302 Archaeology Marwick, Ben Gagan, Michael K. Late Pleistocene monsoon variability in northwest Thailand: an oxygen isotope sequence from the bivalve Margaritanopsis laosensis excavated in Mae Hong Son province |
topic_facet |
Archaeology Freshwater bivalve Geochemistry Late Pleistocene Oxygen-18 Palaeomonsoon Thailand 1105 Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics 1204 Archaeology 1907 Geology 2306 Global and Planetary Change 3302 Archaeology |
description |
Long, continuous records of Late Quaternary environmental change are rare in Southeast Asia, yet they are crucial for understanding the nature of early human dispersal and occupation in the Australasian region. We present a new record of palaeomonsoon activity extending back to 35,000 BP (years before the present), based on the analysis of oxygen isotope ratios (δO) in the freshwater bivalve Margaritanopsis laosensis excavated from the Tham Lod and Ban Rai rockshelters in Mae Hong Son Province, northwest Thailand. Long-term changes in the M. laosensis δO record reflect changes in the δO of the river water in which these organisms grew, and correlate well with changes in speleothem δO records of east Asian monsoon rainfall from Hulu Cave and Dongge Cave in China. The new northwest Thailand δO sequence indicates wetter and relatively unstable climatic conditions from 35,000 to 20,000 BP, followed by drier conditions from 20,000 to 11,500 BP. A period of peak aridity occurred around 15,600 BP during Heinrich Event 1, suggesting that the intertropical convergence zone shifted southward when the North Atlantic region cooled. However, there is little evidence for the Younger Dryas event at ∼12,800-11,500 BP. After 9,800 BP, precipitation increased substantially and climatic variability declined. Our findings provide an improved baseline against which to gauge interactions between early humans and climate change in Southeast Asia. For example, there was no significant change in the prehistoric flake stone technology used at Tham Lod and Ban Rai despite the bivalve δO evidence for substantial climate change in the region. Also, the climatic impact of the Younger Dryas event appears to have been less intense in northwest Thailand compared to the cooling and drying observed in China, and may explain why agriculture made a relatively late appearance in Thailand, possibly involving migrants from China. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Marwick, Ben Gagan, Michael K. |
author_facet |
Marwick, Ben Gagan, Michael K. |
author_sort |
Marwick, Ben |
title |
Late Pleistocene monsoon variability in northwest Thailand: an oxygen isotope sequence from the bivalve Margaritanopsis laosensis excavated in Mae Hong Son province |
title_short |
Late Pleistocene monsoon variability in northwest Thailand: an oxygen isotope sequence from the bivalve Margaritanopsis laosensis excavated in Mae Hong Son province |
title_full |
Late Pleistocene monsoon variability in northwest Thailand: an oxygen isotope sequence from the bivalve Margaritanopsis laosensis excavated in Mae Hong Son province |
title_fullStr |
Late Pleistocene monsoon variability in northwest Thailand: an oxygen isotope sequence from the bivalve Margaritanopsis laosensis excavated in Mae Hong Son province |
title_full_unstemmed |
Late Pleistocene monsoon variability in northwest Thailand: an oxygen isotope sequence from the bivalve Margaritanopsis laosensis excavated in Mae Hong Son province |
title_sort |
late pleistocene monsoon variability in northwest thailand: an oxygen isotope sequence from the bivalve margaritanopsis laosensis excavated in mae hong son province |
publisher |
Pergamon Press |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:730228 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(8.610,8.610,62.837,62.837) |
geographic |
Hulu |
geographic_facet |
Hulu |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_relation |
doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2011.07.007 issn:0277-3791 issn:1873-457X orcid:0000-0002-8279-323X |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2011.07.007 |
container_title |
Quaternary Science Reviews |
container_volume |
30 |
container_issue |
21-22 |
container_start_page |
3088 |
op_container_end_page |
3098 |
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1766136093965549568 |