History of human activity in South China since 7 cal ka BP: Evidence from a sediment record in the South China Sea

Human modifications of the Earth System have been getting increasing attention and this has resulted in the concept of the “Anthropocene”. A complete sequence of human-environment interactions needs to be reconstructed to define the onset of the Anthropocene. To address the chronological gaps and provide a general history of human impact in South China during the Holocene, we present a comprehensive reconstruction of the vegetation, chemical weathering, and heavy metal emissions in the Pearl River and Hainan catchments since 7.0 cal ka BP, using a continuous record of black carbon, clay minerals, and major and trace element concentrations of sediment in Core ZK001 taken from the northwestern South China Sea. Based on high-resolution sediment records, combined with archaeological and historical documents, we propose that human impact in South China can be divided into three stages: a hunting-gathering age (7.0–2.9 cal ka BP), a transitional period (2.9–2.0 cal ka BP) and an intensive farming age (