Holocene Paleoenvironmental Evolution Recorded in Nearshore Deposits from the Zhejiang Coast

The Zhejiang region preserves a complete evolutionary trajectory from hunter-gatherer to early state-level societies, which offers critical material for examining social complexity. Nevertheless, the lack of continuous, high-quality Holocene paleoenvironmental archives in this area hampers a thorough assessment of the human–environment interaction over time. This study investigates pollen, ostracod, foraminiferal and particle-size proxies to reconstruct regional environmental dynamics from core TQ1 in Taizhou Bay spanning 14.8–0.4 cal ka BP based on AMS 14C dating. Core TQ1 records a transition from predominantly terrestrial influence during the late deglaciation to increasing marine influence during the early Holocene. Based on paleoenvironmental changes, the Holocene can be further divided into three stages. Stage 1 (11.5–8.5 cal ka BP) was characterized by a coastal environment with stronger hydrodynamics; arboreal pollen declined while herbs, ferns and algae increased. Stage 2 (8.5–4.2 cal ka BP) represented the peak transgression with open marine conditions and maximum microfossil abundance, and forest recovery as terrestrial herbs and algae decreased. Stage 3 (4.2–0.4 cal ka BP) shifted back to nearshore shallow-sea conditions, with persistently high arboreal percentages and sustained pollen input from forested terrestrial source areas. The intense paleoenvironmental changes, coupled with the evolutionary processes of ancient cultures in the adjacent areas, provide new evidence for a deeper understanding of regional cultural evolution.