Abstract:

Liangzhu Culture is an important culture in the late neolithic age and has a significant connection to the origin of the Chinese
civilization. The archaeological site of Liangzhu ancient city located in Pinyao, Hangzhou, represents the crown of Liangzhu
development. Wecollected soil samples from the Liangzhu cultural layer, the overlying silty soil and the sediments of surrounding rivers and the Qiantang River, measuring and analyzing their Sr-Nd isotopic compositions. Comparing variations between the silty soil and the soil of the Liangzhu cultural layer, together with some recent studies of the sediments of the Yangtze River and the East China Sea, we infer that the silty soil may be a mixture of sediments from the East China Sea and the Qiantang River. Therefore, transgression during that period may result in the collapse of the LiangzhuCulture.

Key words: Liangzhu cultural layer and Silty soil, Sr-Nd isotopic compositions, provenance, the collapse of culture