Early human occupation of the Tibetan Plateau

The Tibetan Plateau,the world's "Third Pole",has an average elevation above 4,000 masl (meters above sea level)and an area of over 500×10^4km^2,It is the highest and largest plateau on earth and is very sensitive to global climate change [1,2].The cold,dry and hypoxic high-altitude environment of the plateau presents a major challenge to human survival.Therefore,the history and mechanisms of prehistoric human history on the Tibetan Plateau-from brief hunting expeditions to seasonal hunting-gathering and finally to permanent settlements-has attracted both general interest and substantial scientific debates [3-6].Archaeological studies indicate that humans probably first explored the plateau at the end of the late Pleistocene.They practiced intensive seasonal hunting-gathering from 15 ka BP [6],and permanently settled regions above 3,000 masl after 3.6 ka BP,which was facilitated by the development of an agropastoral economy [3].However, the early part of the human history of the Tibetan Plateau is still poorly documented,due to the lack of well-preserved archaeological sites and reliable dating results (Fig.la).

A review on the spread of prehistoric agriculture from southern China to mainland Southeast Asia

The origins and spread of agriculture was one of the milestones in human history.When and how prehistoric agriculture spread to mainland Southeast Asia is highly concerned,which contributed to the formation of modern Austroasiatic in this region.Previous studies mainly focused on the time and route of rice agriculture’s introduction into Southeast Asia while millet agriculture was not paid proper attention.Here we analyze 31214C dating data yielded from charred seeds of rice(Oryza sativa),foxtail millet(Setaria italica)and broomcorn millet(Panicum miliaceum)from 128 archaeological sites in China and mainland Southeast Asia.The result shows that millet farming was introduced to mainland Southeast Asia in the late third millennium BC and rice farming was in the late second millennium BC.The agriculture of mainland Southeast Asia might originate from three areas,Southwest China,Guangxi-West Guangdong and coastal Fujian.The spread route of ancient agriculture in Southwest China is close to the“Southwest Silk Road”recorded in literature,which implies there was possibly a channel of cultural exchanges on the eastern margin of Tibetan Plateau already in the late Neolithic period,laying the foundation for the Southwest Silk Road later.

Holocene aeolian activities linked to Indian summer monsoon in the middle reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River

Widespread aeolian deposits on the Tibetan Plateau(TP)have provided valuable palaeoclimatic information.However,the primary factors(e.g.,climate factors,human activity,and vegetation cover)controlling aeolian deposition remain elusive.In this paper,we use a dataset that comprises new and published ages of Holocene aeolian sand and loess in the middle reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River to identify the primary controlling factors and palaeoclimatic implications of aeolian deposition.Several intervals of enhanced aeolian accumulation centered at 8.5-7.8,6.4-5.8,4.5-4.0,3.1-1.8,and 0.9 ka are identified,generally consistent with regional low rainfall events and weak Indian summer monsoon(ISM).This suggests that regional wetness,dominated by the ISM,may play a key role in modulating dust emissions and aeolian deposition on centennial timescales.Our results show that on centennial-to millennial-scales,ISM activity can be reconstructed by non-continuous aeolian deposits in the monsoon dominated TP.

New portraits of the Denisovans

Denisovans,well known for their high-coverage genetic sequences,are considered to be a new human species genetically distinct from Neanderthals and modern humans[1].As a close sister group of Neanderthals,Denisovans not only interbred w让h Neanderthals[2],but they also contributed genetically to extant humans,including modern populations in parts of Oceania and Asia,aboriginal Americans and high-alt让ude modern Tibetans[3-5].

Weakened East Asian summer monsoon triggers increased precipitation in Northwest China

Increased precipitation/humidity in Northwest China is an important scientific issue in the context of global climatic warming(Chen et al.,2019).The climate of Northwest China is dominated by the westerly circulation and its water vapor is supplied mainly by the mid-latitude westerlies,with the rainy season occurring in summer(Chen et al.,2019;Zhang et al.,2019a).