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Lake-centred sedentary lifestyle of early Tibetan Plateau Indigenous populations at high elevation 4,400 years ago

Yang, Xiaoyan; Gao, Yu; Wangdue, Shargan; Ran, Jingkun; Wang, Qing; Chen, Songtao; Yang, Jishuai; ... Chen, Fahu; + view all (2024) Lake-centred sedentary lifestyle of early Tibetan Plateau Indigenous populations at high elevation 4,400 years ago. Nature Ecology & Evolution 10.1038/s41559-024-02539-w. (In press).

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Abstract

The onset of sedentism on the Tibetan Plateau is often presumed to be associated with the dispersal of agriculture or farmers from archaeological sites located in the low elevation margins of the plateau. Previous studies of the plateau assumed that all foragers were probably mobile, but few systematic excavations at forager sites have been conducted to inform us about their settlement patterns. Here we report the world’s highest elevation sedentary way of living exhibited by the Mabu Co site at 4,446 metres above sea level, deep in the interior of the Tibetan Plateau 4,400–4,000 years ago. Our interdisciplinary study indicates that the site was occupied by Indigenous inhabitants of the plateau, representing the earliest known DNA evidence of foragers who predominantly harbour the southern plateau ancestry. The evidence shows that they had a sedentary lifestyle primarily supported by fishing at nearby lakes, supplemented by mammal and bird hunting, as well as small-scale exchanges of millet and rice crops.

Type: Article
Title: Lake-centred sedentary lifestyle of early Tibetan Plateau Indigenous populations at high elevation 4,400 years ago
Location: England
DOI: 10.1038/s41559-024-02539-w
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02539-w
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Institute of Archaeology
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Institute of Archaeology > Institute of Archaeology Gordon Square
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10197844
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