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Abstract

While several studies have linked the decline of complex societies to deteriorating climate conditions, few investigations have explored the relationship between seasonality variation, surplus resources, energy, and their impacts on society. The Western Zhou dynasty (1046-771 BCE) is regarded as one of the most important civilizations of the Bronze Age era in ancient China. Many studies have examined the possible influence of the 2.8 ka cold event on the collapse of Western Zhou dynasty. Nevertheless, the exact reason for the dynasty’s collapse remains debated. Using seasonal-resolution oxygen isotope data from Shi Cave speleothems, the study found the absence of summer monsoon rainfall signal in Northern China during the 2.8 ka cold event, which suggests a significant shift in seasonality. The inability of Western Zhou societies to adapt to the unpredictable and unstable seasonal rainfall patterns may have led to sociopolitical disintegration. We propose that the complex abandonment of Western Zhou societies population centers was not solely driven by protracted drought but also aggravated by year-to-year decreases in rainfall predictability, potentially caused by a weakening of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. Furthermore, we propose that the “2.8 ka BP cold event” may have indirectly led to a significant change in diet from millet to wheat, which eventually became a staple food crop.