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The Dadiwan Culture, a key representative of China's Neolithic period in the Yellow River Basin and considered one of the origins of the Yangshao Culture, experienced a mysterious 500-year gap between its first and second phases, according to new research.

Radiocarbon dating places the culture's existence between roughly 7,800 and 4,800 years ago. However, between Phase I (7,800鈥�7,300 cal yr BP) and Phase II (6,500鈥�6,000 cal yr BP), archaeological evidence disappears. The cause has long puzzled scientists.

Recently, a research team led by Prof. Sun Youbin and Associate Prof. Liu Xingxing from the Institute of Earth Environment of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IEECAS), working with researchers from the Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources of CAS, Lanzhou University, and Northwest University, analyzed sediment from the high-deposition Dadiwan section on the western Chinese Loess Plateau.

Using atmospheric ¹⁴C dating and multiple environmental proxies鈥攊ncluding organic carbon (OC₄₀₀) and total nitrogen (TN)鈥攖he researchers reconstructed the region's climate evolution over the past 14,000 years. They found a sharp drop in both OC₄₀₀ and TN around 7,200 years ago, signaling reduced vegetation productivity and a weaker East Asian summer monsoon.

Comparison with global climate records from ice cores, lakes, oceans, and speleothems 未¹⁸O suggests this event was part of a worldwide cooling period triggered by North Atlantic freshwater input and reduced solar activity.

The team also analyzed ¹⁴C ages from archaeological sites across the western Loess Plateau. Probability and kernel density estimates revealed a notable drop in human settlements around 7,200 years ago鈥攎atching the Dadiwan cultural gap.

The , published in Catena, suggest that deteriorating environmental conditions, reduced agricultural output, and lower foraging success may have forced humans to abandon the Dadiwan site temporarily.