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Paleoproteomic evidence reveals dairying supported prehistoric occupation of the highland Tibetan Plateau

MPS-Authors
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Tang,  Li
Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons222995

Wilkin,  Shevan
Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons246157

Richter,  Kristine Korzow
Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Max Planck Society;

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Bleasdale,  Madeleine
Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Max Planck Society;

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Fernandes,  Ricardo
Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Max Planck Society;

Petraglia,  Michael
Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons289114

Teoh,  Fallen K. Y.
Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons198648

Roberts,  Patrick
isoTROPIC Independent Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Max Planck Society;
Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Max Planck Society;

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Spengler III,  Robert N.
Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Max Planck Society;
Domestication and Anthropogenic Evolution Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons188575

Boivin,  Nicole
Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Max Planck Society;

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Citation

Tang, L., Wilkin, S., Richter, K. K., Bleasdale, M., Fernandes, R., He, Y., et al. (2023). Paleoproteomic evidence reveals dairying supported prehistoric occupation of the highland Tibetan Plateau. Science Advances, 9(15): eadf0345. doi:10.1126/sciadv.adf0345.


Cite as: https://hdl.handle.net/21.11116/0000-000D-0A2B-9
Abstract
The extreme environments of the Tibetan Plateau offer considerable challenges to human survival, demanding novel adaptations. While the role of biological and agricultural adaptations in enabling early human colonization of the plateau has been widely discussed, the contribution of pastoralism is less well understood, especially the dairy pastoralism that has historically been central to Tibetan diets. Here, we analyze ancient proteins from the dental calculus (n = 40) of all human individuals with sufficient calculus preservation from the interior plateau. Our paleoproteomic results demonstrate that dairy pastoralism began on the highland plateau by ~3500 years ago. Patterns of milk protein recovery point to the importance of dairy for individuals who lived in agriculturally poor regions above 3700 m above sea level. Our study suggests that dairy was a critical cultural adaptation that supported expansion of early pastoralists into the region’s vast, non-arable highlands, opening the Tibetan Plateau up to widespread, permanent human occupation. Dairy pastoralism began on the plateau by ~3500 years ago and supported population expansion into its vast, non-arable highlands.