Importation of a frost-resistant barley from the Fertile Crescent to Tibet some 3,600 years ago is associated with the advent of settlements at 3,000 meters and more above sea level. Cynthia Graber reports. November 21, 2014
| | The , at an altitude of some 3000 meters above sea level, is often called the ‘.’ Some prehistoric people tried living there starting about 20,000 years ago. Remains of cooked animals and small-scale hearths show that a few hardy souls did give the harsh region a go, at least temporarily. But they did not stick around.
Permanent human settlements in the area began about 5,200 years ago. So scientists wanted to know. What changed?
Researchers collected artifacts, animal bones and plant remains from 53 sites. The oldest camps only reached altitudes of about 2,500 meters. And at these sites, millet makes up 98 percent of dietary grain.
The findings are in the journal . [F.H. Chen et al, ]
The researchers say that the cross-cultural grain exchange from the Fertile Crescent thus appears to be what allowed humans to finally reach the roof of the world.
—Cynthia Graber
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