The Archaeology of the Early Tibetan Plateau: New Research on the Initial Peopling through the Early Bronze Age

Guedes, Jade d’Alpoim; Aldenderfer, Mark

doi:10.1007/s10814-019-09137-6

Cited by 32 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 112 publications

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“…5000–3000 BP) and the Qugong site near Lhasa (ca. 3800–3000 BP) show an indigenous archaeological tradition, and have assemblage composition and ceramic motifs distinct from those at Qijia 2 . In addition, the evidence from the Zongri site (ca.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite these constraints, ethnic Tibetans have successfully adapted to this environment and have lived on the plateau for millennia 1 . Understanding their genetic and cultural adaptations to this challenging hypoxic environment is of great archaeological, anthropological, genetic, and physiological interest 2 . To fully do so requires answering many fundamental questions regarding the origins of present-day Tibetan populations, including the source populations and initial movements of peoples onto the Plateau, the timing of the establishment of permanent Plateau populations, and the establishment of the gene pools ancestral to the present-day Tibetans.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ancient genomes from the Himalayas illuminate the genetic history of Tibetans and their Tibeto-Burman speaking neighbors

et al. 2022

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Present-day Tibetans have adapted both genetically and culturally to the high altitude environment of the Tibetan Plateau, but fundamental questions about their origins remain unanswered. Recent archaeological and genetic research suggests the presence of an early population on the Plateau within the past 40 thousand years, followed by the arrival of subsequent groups within the past 10 thousand years. Here, we obtain new genome-wide data for 33 ancient individuals from high elevation sites on the southern fringe of the Tibetan Plateau in Nepal, who we show are most closely related to present-day Tibetans. They derive most of their ancestry from groups related to Late Neolithic populations at the northeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau but also harbor a minor genetic component from a distinct and deep Paleolithic Eurasian ancestry. In contrast to their Tibetan neighbors, present-day non-Tibetan Tibeto-Burman speakers living at mid-elevations along the southern and eastern margins of the Plateau form a genetic cline that reflects a distinct genetic history. Finally, a comparison between ancient and present-day highlanders confirms ongoing positive selection of high altitude adaptive alleles.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ancient genomes from the Himalayas illuminate the genetic history of Tibetans and their Tibeto-Burman speaking neighbors

et al. 2022

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“…Without further spatial resolution, it is difficult to resolve why the ancient populations in the Himalayan arc and widespread present-day plateau populations share similar ancestry. Historical records suggest that the earliest complex societies on the Tibetan Plateau likely began ~2500 years ago (i.e., Zhang Zhung), which was conquered by the Tibetan Empire that spanned from ~1300 to 1100 years ago (629 to 842 CE) ( 10 , 11 ). How these political shifts affected human migration and interaction on the plateau is unknown.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human genetic history on the Tibetan Plateau in the past 5100 years

Wang

Yang

Wangdue³

et al. 2023

Sci. Adv.

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Using genome-wide data of 89 ancient individuals dated to 5100 to 100 years before the present (B.P.) from 29 sites across the Tibetan Plateau, we found plateau-specific ancestry across plateau populations, with substantial genetic structure indicating high differentiation before 2500 B.P. Northeastern plateau populations rapidly showed admixture associated with millet farmers by 4700 B.P. in the Gonghe Basin. High genetic similarity on the southern and southwestern plateau showed population expansion along the Yarlung Tsangpo River since 3400 years ago. Central and southeastern plateau populations revealed extensive genetic admixture within the plateau historically, with substantial ancestry related to that found in southern and southwestern plateau populations. Over the past ~700 years, substantial gene flow from lowland East Asia further shaped the genetic landscape of present-day plateau populations. The high-altitude adaptive EPAS1 allele was found in plateau populations as early as in a 5100-year-old individual and showed a sharp increase over the past 2800 years.

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“…The modern distribution of biotic communities across the TP, and thus the distribution of plant and animal resources on which past Tibetan populations depended, is directly related to a differential monsoon strength which is rapidly reduced from the southeast to northwest across the TP (Madsen et al, 2017;Guedes and Aldenderfer 2019). We here propose that this southeast to northwest difference was magnified during the LGM.…”

Section: Implications For Paleolithic People Living On the Southern Tmentioning

confidence: 66%

Climate Conditions on the Tibetan Plateau During the Last Glacial Maximum and Implications for the Survival of Paleolithic Foragers

Liu

et al. 2020

Front. Earth Sci.

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Environmental conditions on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) during the last glacial maximum (LGM) are poorly known. Existing studies of environmental proxies and climate model simulations are contradictory, with interpretations varying between cold-dry and cold-wet environmental conditions which differentially influenced lake volumes, loess deposition and vegetation communities across the TP. Genetic and archaeological studies suggest anatomically modern paleolithic foragers initially occupied the TP between 60 and 30 ka, and may have seasonally occupied the TP during the LGM. Hence, a better understanding for LGM environmental conditions is needed in order to estimate whether paleolithic foragers could have survived on the TP during the extreme LGM cold stage. Here we report the investigation of lacustrine sediments and beach deposits within two paleoshorelines around Dagze Co on the southern TP, ∼22 and ∼42 m higher than the present lake level. Optical age estimates suggest the sediments were deposited during the LGM and mid-Holocene, respectively. TraCE-21 climate model simulation results suggest that net annual LGM precipitation in the Dagze Co basin was lower than the mid-Holocene, but about the same as that of the past 1,000 years. Combining the optical age estimates with TraCE-21 and CAM4 climate model simulation results, we deduce that increased summer precipitation and glacier meltwater supply, combined with decreased lake surface evaporation, produced LGM lake levels ∼22 m higher than present. We also synthesized paleoenvironmental records reported across the TP spanning the LGM. This synthesis suggests that the LGM climate in the northern TP was cold and dry, but that some of the southern TP was cold and wet. These relatively wetter LGM conditions in the southern TP may have favored the growth of cold-resistant plants which, in turn, may have supported larger herbivore populations, and provided food for paleolithic foragers. We conclude that seasonal or short-term human occupation of the TP during the LGM was thus more likely in the southern TP than in the north.

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The Archaeology of the Early Tibetan Plateau: New Research on the Initial Peopling through the Early Bronze Age

Cited by 32 publications

References 112 publications

Ancient genomes from the Himalayas illuminate the genetic history of Tibetans and their Tibeto-Burman speaking neighbors

Ancient genomes from the Himalayas illuminate the genetic history of Tibetans and their Tibeto-Burman speaking neighbors

Human genetic history on the Tibetan Plateau in the past 5100 years

Climate Conditions on the Tibetan Plateau During the Last Glacial Maximum and Implications for the Survival of Paleolithic Foragers

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