Abstract: Dazhushan is the first Paleolithic site with stratigraphic information in Qingdao City. Its excavation not only replenishes the Paleolithic archaeological materials in coastal areas of northern China, but also has far-reaching significance for exploring scientific questions, such as survival, adaptation, and migration of prehistoric humans. Therefore, to understand the living conditions in the corresponding period, it’s necessary to reconstruct the environmental background. In this study, we reconstructed the history of environmental changes of the area, with pollen, magnetic susceptibility, and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating. Our preliminary results are as follow: 1) Dazhushan site appeared in the late Pleistocene, and its absolute burial age of archaeological remains is 65.7-52.9ka, which corresponds to late Marine Isotope Stage 4 (MIS4) to early MIS3; 2) From late MIS5 to middle MIS3 (86.0-45.0ka), the process of regional vegetation succession consists of four stages: deciduous forest grassland, deciduous broad-leaved mixed forest grassland, temperate grassland, and sparse forest grassland. The climate trend reflected in this site is basically consistent with that in the regional context; 3) Between late MIS4 and early MIS3, the rapidly warming climate and the stable living environment have provided an appropriate ecological background for human to survive. Subsequently, the dropping of temperature, marine regression, and the massive reductions of archaeological remains may indicate the weakening of human activities or migrations to other areas. The changes of the intensity of human occupations in different periods show that the survival strategy of early humans had been profoundly influenced by the living environment, which was mainly dominated by the regional climate.

Key words: Paleolithic; Dazhushan site; Coastal zones; OSL date; Pollen analysis