///The Guojiashan archaeological site, located close to the center of Nanjing, is an important site for this culture. Phytolith analysis was carried out on horizons ranging from the Shang Dynasty to the Spring and Autumn Period in order to reveal the relationship between climate change and human cultural development. The results show that during the Shang Dynasty period (3 500~3 000 a B.P.), the climate was warm and wet in Nanjing, whilst the succeeding early Western Zhou Dynasty (3 000~2 800 a B.P.)was characterized by warmer and wetter conditions. In the late Western Zhou Dynasty and in the Warring States Period (2 800~2 500 a B.P.), the climate reverted to one like that of the Shang Dynasty. This climatic variation through time is consistent with previous records from adjacent regions. Comparing the climate of during the evolution at Neolithic culture of Yangtze and Yellow rivers with that of during the megathermal period in Holocene, the authors suggest that the relatively mild and drier climate at the mid to late Holocene played an important role in the origin of the local characteristics of the Hu-Shu Culture.