The relationship between the Palaeolithic–Neolithic cultural transition and environmental changes is important for understanding human history. However, the timing and nature of human behaviour at the transition, and their relationship to local environmental conditions, remain poorly understood. The Yujiagou archaeological site in the Nihewan Basin, northern China, provides valuable chronological and archaeological information...

The nature and timing of glaciations enable inferences to be made about glacial climates. However, the paucity of reliable glacial chronologies impedes a full understanding of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) climate in the western Nyainqentanglha Mountains, south Tibet. In this study, we investigated the LGM glacial history in the Quemuqu Valley, western Nyainqentanglha, using 10 Be surface exposure dating. We used a physically...

The Qilianshan [ shan means ‘mountain(s)’ in Chinese] are important for understanding the Quaternary glaciations which occurred along the north‐eastern margins of the Tibetan Plateau (TP). Two sets of moraines identified in the Gangshika Valley on the southern slopes of the Qilianshan, and in the Jindonggou Valley on the northern slopes of the Lenglongling Ridge in the eastern Qilianshan, were dated using optically stimulated...

A compilation of 53 14 C ages on moraines constrains the Holocene glacial history of Tibet and the surrounding mountains. Several Holocene glacial stages are identified. The Little Ice Age had three substages at 1.0–0.13 cal. ka BP. However, the glacial advances may have occurred 200–600 a earlier in southern and eastern bordering mountains than in the northern bordering mountains. The earlier glacial advance might have been d...