Abstract: The relationship between geomorphological evolution and human activities is an important issue in geography research. The
Yangshao site in Mianchi County, Henan Provence, is one of the most significant Neolithic pottery cultures in the Yellow River Basin.
This study takes Xigou Gully in the Yangshao site in Mianchi County as a research object, and try to establish the relationship between
human activity and landform formation. The Yangshao Site is located in the southeastern boundary of Loess Plateau. This plateau is a
loess accumulation area, and loess is an ideal material for optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating. In this study, we used quartz
OSL dating and K-feldspar post-infrared(IR) IRSL to obtain the age of overlaying loess in the Xigou Gully terraces and attempt to
reconstruct the formation time of the terraces. The formation of the terraces in Xigou Gully has been estimated at approximately 30 ka
and 120 ka, corresponding to the marine isotope stage (MIS) 3 and 5. However, given the absence of a record of human activity in the
Yangshao Site during this period, our dating results prove that the formation of gullies in the site has no relationship with the surface
activities of the Yangshao people during the Neolithic Age.

Key words: Yangshao site, loess erosion, quartz OSL, K-feldspar post-IR IRSL, climate change