When did humans first set foot on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau? How did they adapt to this land?

Recently, the Marbo Tso Site in Gala Township, Kangmar County, Xigaze City, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, was selected as one of the "Top 10 National Archaeological Discoveries of 2024." As the highest-altitude, earliest-dated, longest-continuously inhabited, and most clearly stratified Neolithic lakeside site discovered to date in the hinterland of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the research findings from this archaeological project provide us with a sample to explore early human survival in this "polar" environment.

This chronicle, engraved in the heart of the plateau, is gradually unveiling the survival scenarios and historical legacy of the prehistoric inhabitants of the "Roof of the World."

Across Four Thousand Years! The Earliest and Highest-Altitude Cemetery

The Marbo Tso Site is located in the Gala Paleo-lake Basin at an altitude of over 4,400 meters, covering an area of approximately 224,000 square meters.

From 2020 to 2024, the Xizang Autonomous Region Cultural Relics Protection Institute, in collaboration with Lanzhou University, the Institute of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Peking University, and the Archaeological Research Center of the National Cultural Heritage Administration, conducted five consecutive years of field excavations at the site.

To date, 1,650 square meters have been excavated, uncovering over 60 tombs, more than 40 ash pits, as well as postholes, hearths, and stone structures. Research results indicate that the Marbo Tso Site is the earliest and highest-altitude cemetery discovered so far in the hinterland of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

What secrets of early human civilization lie behind these relics spanning four millennia?

Xia Gewangdui, leader of the joint archaeological team at the Marbo Tso Site, told reporters that the remains from the late first phase to the third phase of the site date back 4,500 to 3,000 years, while the fourth phase dates back 3,000 to 2,000 years. The burial styles are diverse, including stone cist tombs, vertical pit tombs, and stone chamber tombs, with burial customs such as prone extended burials and secondary bone-collection burials.

Among them, "stacked burials" were discovered in the second-phase tombs, marking the first such find in the archaeological study of tombs on the Xizang Plateau. In the third-phase tomb sites, higher-status stone-enclosed chamber tombs and large partitioned vertical pit tombs began to appear, yielding the earliest bronze chain links and steatite beads found in Xizang.

"In the third-phase tombs, we also discovered the earliest known mound-covered tombs in Xizang. This finding pushes back the recorded history of mound-covered tombs from the 7th-century Tubo period to prehistoric times," said Xia Gewangdui. "Based on the increasing complexity of tomb structures, we speculate that social stratification had already emerged on the plateau by this time."

In the fourth-phase remains, the settlement layout underwent significant changes, featuring the earliest large-scale stone structures in Xizang. Xia Gewangdui said, "A sacrificial pit within the stone structure was lined with red sand and contained a sheep's head. In the residential area, not only were hearths found, but also a large number of scattered bird eggshells, likely remnants of human consumption."

Radiocarbon dating shows that the stratigraphic layers across different excavation areas at the Marbo Tso Site can establish a continuous chronological sequence, with settlement layouts from different periods reflecting deliberate planning by early humans. "Whether the emergence of high-status mound-covered tombs indicates a cultural continuity that influenced Tubo civilization remains a question for further exploration," Xia Gewangdui said.

Unlocking New Heights!Expanding the Temporal and Spatial Framework of 'Prehistoric Globalization'

The Marbo Tso Site is located on the central-southern plateau of Xizang, on the northern flank of the central Himalayas, near the borders of China-India and China-Bhutan. Based on the characteristics of the unearthed artifacts, the site may represent a new cultural phenomenon—"Marbo Tso Culture," marking another milestone in Neolithic archaeology in Xizang after the Karuo and Qugong sites.

From a temporal perspective, the first-phase artifacts are represented by fine sandy brown pottery with stamped and incised decorations, such as wide-mouthed flat-bottom jars and folded-belly flat-bottom basins. The second phase is characterized by mica-tempered brown pottery with radial incisions, such as single-handled flat-bottom jars, with strip-shaped lugs widely used. By the third phase, artifacts included black polished pottery with folded rims and pointed-round bottoms, continuing some forms from the second phase while showing a trend toward smaller sizes. In the fourth phase, stone net sinkers began to appear in large numbers.

From a spatial perspective, these pottery styles differ from those unearthed at the Karuo and Qugong sites in Xizang. Xia Gewangdui said, "The characteristics of Marbo Tso pottery show close connections with cultures in Sichuan, Yunnan, and the Gan-Qing region. Additionally, the discovery of crop remains such as millet, broomcorn millet, and rice—which could not have been locally cultivated—provides credible evidence for interpreting the formation of the pluralistic yet unified Chinese civilization."

Beyond pottery and crops, other unearthed artifacts are equally surprising. Bone and shell tools, as well as crystal microliths from the early remains, indicate a high level of bone tool craftsmanship during this period. Exotic ornaments such as cowrie shells, ivory, bronze, agate, carnelian, and faïence beads suggest the existence of long-distance trade networks, filling many gaps in the study of cross-regional cultural exchanges on the plateau.

"We speculate that 4,000 years ago, the Marbo Tso area had already established extensive andunobstructed trade networks with surrounding regions. This discovery provides an important reference for constructing the long-range cultural landscape of the prehistoric hinterland of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It also significantly expands the academic understanding of the temporal and spatial dimensions of 'prehistoric globalization,' opening new perspectives for exploring prehistoric human civilizational interactions," Xia Gewangdui said.

Fishing and Hunting...Reconstructing the Lakeside Life of the Marbo Tso Ancestors

"Gala at the horizon, cradle of the gales"—this local proverb captures the extreme climate of the Gala Paleo-lake Basin, where Marbo Tso is located. Yet beneath this frigid, oxygen-scarce, and wind-battered land lies a millennia-old treasure trove witnessing the evolution of human civilization.

Through 3mm fine sieving of all excavated deposits, collecting over 2,000 bags of pottery fragments, and processing more than 1,300 samples of phytoliths and soil micromorphology—combined with multidisciplinary techniques such as ancient DNA analysis, pottery residue analysis, physical anthropology, and zooarchaeology—the joint archaeological team reconstructed the vibrant lakeside life of the Marbo Tso ancestors.

Reconstruction of the ancient site's paleo-landscape reveals that 4,000 years ago, the Gala Paleo-lake covered an area of over 100 square kilometers, 11 times its current size. The stable lake ecosystem supported abundant fishery resources, and the Marbo Tso ancestors ingeniously used bones from cormorants and other waterfowl to make fishhooks. At that time, the lakeshore was lush with vegetation, the climate was humid, and the environment was more suitable for human survival.

Seasonal analysis of animal remains by Professor Yang Xiaoyan's team at Lanzhou University's College of Earth and Environmental Sciences indicates that the early inhabitants of the Marbo Tso Site engaged in year-round fishing and hunting by the lakeside. By the second and third phases of the site, the proportion of fish in their diet decreased, while the consumption of terrestrial wild animals increased. Domesticated sheep, goats, and wheat crops appeared, and the ancestors began using dairy products, marking the formation of agriculture and animal husbandry.

Although the environment was more favorable than today, survival on the plateau remained highly challenging. Xia Gewangdui noted that physical anthropological studies reveal the Marbo Tso ancestors developed relatively robust upper-body muscles, heavily worn teeth, and extremely low caries rates—traits demonstrating the unique vitality of the local population during the mid-to-late Holocene.

Ancient DNA research by Professor Fu Qiaomei's team at the Chinese Academy of Sciences further deciphered the genetic evolution of the Marbo Tso population: Individuals from the early Marbo Tso remains (4,400–4,000 years ago) already shared genetic characteristics with later southern plateau populations, indicating that by this time, indigenous southern plateau groups with distinct genetic traits were widely distributed along the Yarlung Tsangpo River basin. Some individuals carried minor genetic traces of low-altitude northern East Asian populations, suggesting complex genetic interactions between early southern plateau groups and external populations.

"Current excavations have revealed only 1% of the Marbo Tso Site. In the wilderness of Kangmar, amid the gales of Gala, more historical treasures about the plateau's civilizational veins await discovery. But we are confident that the wisdom of our ancestors, buried by wind and sand, will surely shine again through scientific excavation," Xia Gewangdui said.

Reporter: Chunla, Pan Yijing, Liu Zhoupeng

Translator: Liu Fang, Zhi Xinghua

Review: Hu Rongguo, Drakpa Wangchen