Science Advanceshas published online an archaeological discovery by Professor Ashish Sinha of California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) and XJTU's Professor ChengHai and his team: Role of climate in the rise and fall of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.

"Earlier explanations for the Assyrian collapse focused on the roles of internal politico-economic conflicts, territorial overextension, and military defeat." The author wrote, "We present a high-resolution and precisely dated speleothem record of climate change…, which suggests that…megadroughts during the early-mid seventh century BCE, as severe as recent droughts in the region but lasting for decades, triggered a decline in Assyria’s agrarian productivity and thus contributed to its eventual political and economic collapse."

Professor Ashish Sinha, also a chair professor of XJTU, is the first author. XJTU's Associate Professor Gayatri Kathayat is the co-corresponding author. Professor Cheng Hai's team members are co-authors.