Analyzing Geomorphic Impact of Early Agriculture on the Tibetan Plateau

Loess hillslope terraces, interpreted alternately as anthropogenic or geologic, are a pervasive feature in Jiuzhaigou National Nature Reserve (JNNR) in northern China. Archeological research indicates the presence of a human settlement in JNNR as early as 1400 BCE with a period of abandonment between 700 and 500 BCE. Optical luminescence dating on terrace scarps indicates scarp formation to coincide with the date of abandonment. I interpret the abandonment as early settlers’ response to self-induced natural disaster. I am using mathematical models of hill-slope failure to determine the intensity of land use required to force slope failure. This project seeks a more concrete understanding on the efficacy of humans as geomorphic agents. I approach a difficult question for the future: is our footprint growing so large as to render geologic processes irrelevant