Abstract
The timing and motivation of prehistoric human expansion into the hinterland of the Tibetan Plateau (TP) is a widely debated scientific issue. Recent archaeological studies have brought forward predictions of the earliest human occupation of the TP to the late–Middle Pleistocene. However, massive human occupation of the TP did not appear until the termination of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The spatio-temporal distribution of prehistoric hunter-gatherers on the TP varies significantly before the permanent occupation after 3600 BP (before present). Here, we report on environmental-archaeological evidence from the Canxionggashuo (CXGS) site in Yushu Prefecture, which provides information that is key to understanding the dynamics of post-LGM human occupation on the TP. Radiocarbon dating has revealed two occupation periods of the CXGS site at 8600–7100 cal (calibrated years) BP and 2400–2100 cal BP. The charcoal concentration in cultural layers correlates well with paleo–human activities. Hunter-gatherers expanded westwards from the northeastern margin of the TP to the hinterland of the TP during the warming period of the early–middle Holocene (~11,500–6000 BP). However, these groups retreated during the middle–late Holocene (~6000–3600 BP) under a cooling-drying climate. Prehistoric humans finally occupied the hinterland of the TP permanently after 3600 BP, with an enhanced cold-adaptive lifestyle, although the climate was still deteriorating.
Highlights
Areas of high altitude present a major challenge for human occupation given the extreme cold, scarce food resources, and physiological stress caused by a low oxygen concentration
On the basis of this, we reviewed the archaeological discoveries from the Tibetan Plateau (TP) and compared them to the paleoclimatic records to reveal the history and possible driving forces for prehistoric human occupation of the hinterland of the TP
The accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14 C dating results for the CXGS site are listed in Table 2 and Figure 2, including data from both the excavation [30] and the profile of this study
Summary
Areas of high altitude present a major challenge for human occupation given the extreme cold, scarce food resources, and physiological stress caused by a low oxygen concentration. The Tibetan Plateau (TP), as the largest and highest plateau on Earth, called the Third Pole, was one of the most challenging areas for prehistoric humans to conquer. For the hinterland of the TP in particular, where the altitude is above 4000 m, the severe environment makes it one of the harshest areas for human occupation [1]. The TP has become a key area for studying the history of human migration from lowlands to highlands [2,3,4]. The initial timing, dynamic, and motivation for prehistoric human exploration
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