Radiocarbon chronology and settlement patterns in the Bronze Age of the Qaidam Basin, Northwestern China.

Prehistoric settlement patterns on the Tibetan Plateau, particularly in the Qaidam Basin, have drawn significant scholarly interest. Yet, limited data have hindered a comprehensive understanding the Bronze Age chronology and landscape exploitation in this region. This paper presents 24 newly obtained radiocarbon dates from eight archaeological sites within the Qaidam Basin on the Tibetan Plateau.

Vegetation History and Survival Patterns of the Earliest Village on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

The upper Yellow River valley in the northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) is an important corridor for prehistoric migration to the hinterland plateau. However, most studies have focused on the Neolithic Age, with limited evidence for earlier periods. The Shalongka (SLK) site on the northeastern QTP spans the Epipaleolithic to Bronze Age and contains cultural deposits, so provides a good basis for unraveling the evolutionary history of the human-land relationship.

Author Correction: Winter-to-summer seasonal migration of microlithic human activities on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Winter-to-summer seasonal migration of microlithic human activities on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) has become a valuable site for investigation of adaptive regimes of prehistoric humans to extreme environments. At present most studies have focused solely on a single site. Using a more integrated approach that covers the complete scope of the plateau is needed to better understand the expansion logic of prehistoric humans moving towards the plateau.