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A “mobility highway” simulating interactions between farmers and pastoralists was superimposed with archaeological sites dated based on geolocation information. 3600 and 2200 before current.Credit: Xinzhou Chen
The million-square-mile Tibetan Plateau, also known as the “Roof of the World,” is the world’s highest landmass, with an average elevation of 14,000 feet. Despite the extreme environment, humans have lived there permanently since prehistoric times.
Agriculture and pastoralism play an important role in the economy of the Tibetan Plateau today, as they have throughout history. To make the most of a difficult environment, farmers, agro-pastoralists and mobile pastoralists interact and move in concert, shaping the economy and cultural geography of the entire plateau.
A new study by researchers from Washington University in St. Louis and Sichuan University in China was published on February 2nd. scientific reporttraces the roots of long-standing cultural exchanges across the Tibetan Plateau to Bronze Age prehistory.
Researchers used advanced geospatial modeling to uncover environmental and archaeological evidence linking ancient migration and survival strategies to cultural connections forged between Bronze Age and Iron Age farmers and pastoralists. We compared. Their findings suggest that these strategies influenced the transmission of settlement patterns and pottery styles (including materials used, characteristics, and decorative features) between distant prehistoric communities across the plateau. It shows that.
The study is a major undertaking made possible thanks to advances in geospatial data analysis and high-resolution remote sensing, said Michael Frachetti, professor of archeology in WashU’s School of Arts and Sciences and corresponding author of the study. .
First, the researchers created a simulation of the optimal migration routes used by prehistoric farmers and pastoralists, based on land cover and the environment’s ability to support the needs of crops and herds. For example, upland pastoralists typically move beyond zones with abundant grass resources toward more limited arable niches on the plateau. The repeating patterns that emerged from these simulations were shown to be statistically correlated with the geographic locations of thousands of prehistoric sites across the Tibetan Plateau.
To test how these routes influenced social interactions, the team compiled a large database of published archaeological finds from Bronze Age and Iron Age sites across Tibet. and generated social networks based on the shared techniques and designs of the pottery found at these sites. The resulting social network suggests that thousands of years ago, the entire Tibetan continent was well connected and communicating, even over great distances.
“When we overlay mobility maps with social networks, we see a strong correlation between subsistence-oriented mobility routes and strong material-cultural ties between local communities, and we see a strong correlation between survival-oriented mobility routes and strong material-cultural ties between local communities. ”, Frachetti said. . “This shows not only that people moved in response to agricultural and pastoral needs, but also that migration was key to shaping the regional character and social relationships of ancient communities on the Tibetan Plateau. is showing.”