Science· 2014Q1
Agriculture facilitated permanent human occupation of the Tibetan Plateau after 3600 B.P.
- 714citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2014year
Short summary
Permanent human settlements on the Tibetan Plateau above 2000-3000 meters were established by 5200 years ago, with a novel agropastoral economy enabling year-round occupation from 3600 years ago onwards.
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Key points
- First villages on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau were established by 5200 calendar years before present (cal yr B.P.).
- A novel agropastoral economy emerged around 3600 cal yr B.P.
- This agropastoral economy enabled year-round human occupation at altitudes above 2000-3000 meters.
- The subsistence strategy helped humans adapt to late Holocene global temperature decline.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Our understanding of when and how humans adapted to living on the Tibetan Plateau at altitudes above 2000 to 3000 meters has been constrained by a paucity of archaeological data. Here we report data sets from the northeastern Tibetan Plateau indicating that the first villages were established only by 5200 calendar years before the present (cal yr B.P.). Using these data, we tested the hypothesis that a novel agropastoral economy facilitated year-round living at higher altitudes since 3600 cal yr B.P. This successful subsistence strategy facilitated the adaptation of farmers-herders to the challenges of global temperature decline during the late Holocene.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Science, 2014 · DOI ↗
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Field: Anthropology
AnthropologySocial Sciences