Sedentism refers to the gradual decrease in human mobility, culminating in year-round settlement in one place. This lifestyle, characterized by the concentrated exploitation of local resources, enables higher population densities and initiates economic and social transformations, eventually leading to the formation of early states. Today, the majority of humans live in sedentary societies across the globe, including over six million people residing at elevations above 4,000 meters, primarily on the Tibetan Plateau.
The Tibetan Plateau, with its extreme conditions of cold, low oxygen, intense UV radiation, and low productivity, presents significant challenges to human survival, even today. Thus, the process of sedentism on the plateau represents a dramatic shift from millennia of mobile hunter-gatherer lifestyles and demands a heightened ability to acquire and manage subsistence resources. While research indicates that modern humans were present on the plateau 30,000 to 40,000 years ago, the questions of when sedentism began, how it was sustained, and who the earliest settlers were remain central to our understanding of human history.
In most parts of the world, large-scale sedentism emerged with the rise of agriculture. On the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, settlements relying on millet agriculture appeared around 5,000 years ago at altitudes of about 3,000 meters. This has led scholars to associate sedentism on the plateau with the spread of agriculture from lower elevations. However, a discovery in 2019 at the Marnyi Qu site on the banks of Lake Marnyi (28.31°N, 89.43°E, elevation: 4,410–4,460 m) in Kangma County, Shigatse, Tibet, challenges this view. This archaeological site, dating back 4,400 years, provides unprecedented insights into human life at high altitudes.
Located at the source of the Nyangchu River in the middle reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River, north of the Himalayas, Marnyi Qu has undergone five years of archaeological excavations (2020–2024) approved by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage. The excavation is led by the Tibet Autonomous Region Institute of Cultural Relics Conservation in collaboration with Lanzhou University, the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research (Chinese Academy of Sciences), the Archaeological Research Center of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, and Peking University. Lanzhou University, along with other institutions, is conducting analyses on human and animal remains, as well as plant residues recovered from the site.
The primary area of excavation is located on the southeastern shore of Lake Marnyi (Fig. 1), where numerous burial sites, pits, stone structures, and activity areas have been uncovered. Artifacts include pottery, ground stone tools, microblades, bone tools, ornaments, animal bones, and charred plant remains. This latest research, based on cultural remains dating back 4,400–4,000 years, sheds light on early settlement patterns.
Fig. 1 Marnyi Qu Site
Hundreds of tombs have been discovered at Marnyi Qu, and ancient DNA analyses on 11 human remains by the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (Chinese Academy of Sciences) indicate that these individuals share genetic links with northern East Asian populations from 9,500 to 5,000 years ago. However, they exhibit genetic characteristics distinct from low-altitude agricultural communities of the same period, closely resembling groups from southern Tibet and Nepal. This suggests that the people of Marnyi Qu were not agricultural migrants from lower elevations but rather indigenous high-altitude inhabitants who diverged from Yellow River Basin populations in the mid-to-late Holocene. Furthermore, the presence of EPAS1 gene variants, crucial for modern Tibetans’ adaptation to low-oxygen environments, was identified in some individuals, indicating the emergence of genetic traits related to high-altitude adaptation over 4,000 years ago.
Analyses of animal remains, utilizing morphological identification and Bulk Bone Shot-gun Metagenomics (BBSM), revealed that fish bones were the most abundant, followed by waterfowl and wild mammals, with no evidence of domesticated animals (Fig. 2a). Numerous fishing tools made from cormorant bones were found alongside fish remains, suggesting year-round fishing activities, as evidenced by growth ring analyses of fish vertebrae (Fig. 2b). Similarly, analyses of bird bones revealed the capture of both resident and migratory birds, while mammalian teeth growth patterns indicated year-round hunting activities (Fig. 2c).
Fig. 2 Evidence of year-round fishing and hunting at Marnyi Qu
(a) Identification of hunted species using BBSM; (b) Fish vertebrae growth ring analysis; (c) Seasonal mortality indicated by mammalian tooth slices. Scale: 200 μm.
Plant remains included carbonized seeds of millet (Setaria italica), broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum), and rice (Oryza sativa). Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of human and animal bones, as well as plant remains (Fig. 3), indicate that fish formed the primary food source for the ancient inhabitants of Marnyi Qu. The presence of cultivated crops suggests a limited intake of carbohydrates, but given the altitude of over 4,400 meters, these crops could not have been locally grown and must have been obtained through exchange with lower-lying regions.
Fig. 3 Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition of human, animal, and plant remains from Marnyi Qu
Four thousand years ago, the area around Marnyi Qu and neighboring lakes covered over 100 square kilometers. The expansive ancient lake provided abundant and stable food resources, attracting hunter-gatherer populations who engaged in year-round fishing and bird hunting. Isotopic evidence of a fish-based diet suggests a reduced level of mobility, supporting the possibility of sedentism.
This study revises previous hypotheses that associated sedentism on the Tibetan Plateau with the spread of agriculture or farming populations. It now appears that during the period 5,000–4,000 years ago, sedentism on the plateau emerged through at least two pathways: agricultural settlements in low-altitude river valleys and hunter-gatherer economies centered on fishing in high-altitude regions.
Despite its vast area of over 140,000 square meters, only 1,500 square meters of the Marnyi Qu site have been excavated so far. While post holes suggest the possibility of permanent structures, no definitive residential buildings have been identified, and the degree of permanence among the population remains uncertain. Future research will be necessary to determine whether the same individuals were responsible for the year-round fishing and hunting activities and to clarify the nature of their settlement patterns.
The excavation and research at Marnyi Qu are supported by the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition, the “Archaeology China” project of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. The study integrates ancient DNA analysis, animal morphology, and stable isotope analysis, highlighting the necessity of multidisciplinary approaches in environmental archaeology.
On September 16, 2024,Nature Ecology & Evolutionpublished these findings under the title"Lake-centred sedentary lifestyle of early Tibetan Plateau Indigenous populations at high elevation 4,400 years ago."Professor Yang Xiaoyan of the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Lanzhou University is the first and corresponding author, with Academician Chen Fahu from the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research (Chinese Academy of Sciences) as the senior corresponding author. Co-first authors include excavation leader Xia Gewangdui from the Tibet Autonomous Region Institute of Cultural Relics Conservation, Fu Qiaomei and Liu Yichen from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (Chinese Academy of Sciences), with contributions from researchers including Gao Yu, Ran Jingkun, Wang Qing, Chen Songtao, Yang Jishuai, and Wang Tianyi.
Original article link：https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-024-02539-w
