Lake-centred sedentary lifestyle of early Tibetan Plateau Indigenous populations at high elevation 4,400 years ago.

The onset of sedentism on the Tibetan Plateau is often presumed to be associated with the dispersal of agriculture or farmers from archaeological sites located in the low elevation margins of the plateau. Previous studies of the plateau assumed that all foragers were probably mobile, but few systematic excavations at forager sites have been conducted to inform us about their settlement patterns. Here we report the world's highest elevation sedentary way of living exhibited by the Mabu Co site at 4,446 metres above sea level, deep in the interior of the Tibetan Plateau 4,400-4,000 years ago.

Camelus knoblochi genome reveals the complex evolutionary history of Old World camels.

Extant Old World camels (genus Camelus) contributed to the economic and cultural exchanges between the East and West for thousands of years. Although many remains have been unearthed, we know neither whether the prevalent hybridization observed between extant Camelus species also occurred between extinct lineages and the ancestors of extant Camelus species nor why some populations became extinct while others survived. To investigate these questions, we generated paleogenomic and stable isotope data from an extinct two-humped camel species, Camelus knoblochi.

An extinct and deeply divergent tiger lineage from northeastern China recognized through palaeogenomics.

Tigers () are flagship big cats and attract extensive public attention due to their charismatic features and endangered status. Despite this, little is known about their prehistoric lineages and detailed evolutionary histories. Through palaeogenomic analyses, we identified a Pleistocene tiger from northeastern China, dated to beyond the limits of radiocarbon dating (greater than 43 500 years ago).

Ancient mitochondrial genomes from Chinese cave hyenas provide insights into the evolutionary history of the genus .

Cave hyenas (genus ) are extinct bone-cracking carnivores from the family Hyaenidae and are generally split into two taxa that correspond to a European/Eurasian and an (East) Asian lineage. They are close relatives of the extant African spotted hyenas, the only extant member of the genus . Cave hyenas inhabited a wide range across Eurasia during the Pleistocene, but became extinct at the end of the Late Pleistocene.

Ancient DNA of northern China Hystricidae sub-fossils reveals the evolutionary history of old world porcupines in the Late Pleistocene.

Background: Old World porcupines (Family: Hystricidae) are the third-largest rodents and inhabit southern Europe, Asia, and most regions of Africa. They are a typical indicator of warm climate and their distribution is restricted to tropical and subtropical zones. In China, porcupines are widely distributed in southern areas of the Yangtze River.

Different maternal lineages revealed by ancient mitochondrial genome of from China.

Domestic Bactrian camel () used to be one of the most important livestock species in Chinese history, as well as the major transport carrier on the ancient Silk Road. However, archeological studies on Chinese are still limited, and molecular biology research on this species is mainly focused on modern specimens. In this study, we retrieved the complete mitochondrial genome from a specimen, which was excavated from northwestern China and dated at 1290-1180 cal.