Hunter-Gatherers Were First Occupants Of The Tibetan Plateau

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The Tibetan Plateau's first occupants have been discovered to be hunter-gatherers who permanently settled their 8000 years ago, during a strong monsoon throughout Asia. The plateau is also called 'The Roof Of The World' as it is the world's highest in elevation and largest in area. With an average height exceeding 4500 m, (roughly half of that of Mt.Everest) it is a wonder that humans came to settle here.

A study published in the latest issue of Science China Earth Sciences solves the mystery of how humans made 'The Roof Of The World' their home.

During the end of the last ice age, when temperatures were getting warmer, Upper Paleolithic hunter-gatherers first spread into the North Eastern Tibetan Plateau. Then millet agriculture was developed and these Epipaleolithic hunter-gatherers spread towards the interior of the plateau. Neolithic farmers then spread to the low elevation river valleys in the north east and the south-east regions. And finally, in the late Holocene period, the Bronze age wheat and barley farmers settled in the higher elevations.

According to an article on Science News, the hunter-gatherers lived on hunting yaks and eating edible plants. A site called Chusang was discovered in 1998 having hand and footprints dating back to at least 7,400 years ago.  It is believed that these prints are of those foragers that permanently settled in the plateau.

One study also suggests that present high-altitude gene variants ( that help people survive in low oxygen environments) in modern humans originate from the settlers of the Tibetan plateau. But as of now there are a lot of problems studying human migration to the plateau. There are other possible mechanisms of migration and it will take time until a full proof mechanism is obtained.

There is a lot of work cut out for archaeologists working on the problem. Human migration is a tricky thing and the world's best minds are needed for the job.