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Abstract: This paper describes the palynological, sedimentological and geochemical results obtained from a 6 m core taken from Lake Dajiuhu in Shennongjia Mountains, central China, spanning the last 40,000 BP. The site is located in a subtropical area which is known for harboring many endemic species. The pollen record shows that past climate changes during the Glacial allowed the persistence of warm trees and even subtropical taxa. The percentages of arboreal pollen taxa vary from 40% before and during the last glacial period to ∼60% during the Holocene. The δ13C data indicate that the dominant vegetation was composed of C3 plants. However, despite the continuous presence of tree taxa around the site, the total organic carbon indicates that the biomass was very low during the glacial period (MIS 3 and 2), related to the dominance of conifers and evergreen tree taxa, which are very low biomass producers. The total organic carbon (TOC) started to increase steadily at the end of the last glacial period (end of MIS 2), which reflects the sharp increase in the amount of Sphagnum spores recorded at the end of MIS 2, marking the beginning of the peat bog formation and the increase of the in-situ biomass. The summergreen taxa, which increased during the Holocene, may have also contributed to the TOC increase. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The present paper reports the recently discovered fossil teeth of Early Pleistocene Gigantopithecus blacki and associated mammalian fauna from Baeryan Cave, Bijie County in Guizhou Province, and also reviews briefly the known fossil sites of Gigantopithecus in south China of Pleistocene. In Early Pleistocene, Gigantopithecus had a wider distribution, but withdrew southward in Middle Pleistocene to a limited area mainly in South China, and it disappeared in the Late Pleistocene according to the present fossil records. Diet and habitat analysis from carbon isotope evidence is used to investigate the reasons for the extinction of Gigantopithecus, which fed on a pure C3 diet and lived in a forest habitat. It was clearly different from early hominins in South and East Africa, such as Australopithecus africanus, Paranthropus robustus and Paranthropus boisei, which had C4 diets. The extinction of Gigantopithecus was also related to the great changes of climate and environment of the Pleistocene, especially the last one million years, during which Homo became more and more prosperous and exerted great pressure on G. blacki. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]