Abstract: 
The longevity of cratons usually implies that the entire cratonic lithosphere remained unchanged over billions of years, attributed to the intrinsic buoyancy and strength of the lithospheric root. We show that the present cratonic roots are notably denser than the ambient mantle, and that the cratonic lithospheric mantle also has many internal weaknesses. Consequently, the cratonic root may delaminated under dynamic perturbations, and the delaminated roots may subsequently relaminate when warmed up inside the deep mantle, after which the lithosphere gradually cools and densifies until it becomes unstable again. These processes occurred over supercontinental cycles and generated enduring (>100 Myr) and prominent (>1 km) surface uplift and subsidence. We argue that such cratonic deformation happened repeatedly since the Neoproterozoic and largely shaped the present properties of the cratonic lithosphere.