# Archeological data with AI- and physics-based modeling explain typhoon-induced disasters in inland China around 3000 yr B.P

## TL;DR

Around 3000 years ago, typhoons caused extreme weather and social changes in inland China, as revealed by combining archaeological data with AI and physics-based models.

## Contribution

Combining paleoclimate data, archaeological evidence, and AI/physics models to show typhoon impacts on ancient societies in China.

## Key findings

- Intensified typhoon activity around 3000 yr B.P. caused extreme rainfall and floods in inland China.
- These typhoon-induced disasters impacted human survival and cultural development during the mid-late Holocene.

## Abstract

Climate change–related extreme events during the mid-late Holocene, especially around 3000 years before the present (yr B.P.), severely threatened human survival and cultural development at various locations. However, although marked social change during this period in China have also been reported to coincide with extreme disasters, the causes and impacts of these events remain unclear. Here, we aligned paleoclimate reconstructions with quantitative analyses of archeological evidence, including oracle bone scripts, together with artificial intelligence– and physics-based model simulations to uncover the causes. We found that intensified typhoon activities exerted considerable impacts on climate extremes and social change in inland China around 3000 yr B.P. These findings underscore the urgent need to improve preparedness for today’s typhoon-induced disasters in the context of accelerating climate change.

Intensified typhoons caused extreme rainfall and floods in inland China, threatening cultural development, around 3000 yr B.P.