Genetic studies show modern humans on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau 21,000 years ago

Xinhua ^ | December 14, 2009

[SunkenCiv]

...The plateau, with an average altitude above 4,000 meters and known as "the Roof of the World" in southwestern China, is one of the most challenging areas in the world for human settlement due to its environmental extremes, such as extreme cold and low oxygen levels.

...with the drastic drop of temperature on the Earth in the Last Glacial Maximum of the Late Paleolithic Age, about 23,000 years ago, many species could not adapt to the changes and died out...

From the perspective of genetic continuity studies, geneticists had also attempted to find out when modern humans settled on the plateau by determining the age of the ancient components found in the genes of modern-day Tibetans... They collected 680 genome samples of genetic structure from Tibetans in several major Tibetan-populated areas, including Tibet,Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan. Of those, 388 were sampled from Tibet...

"Another significant finding was that researchers identified an infrequent novel haplo group, M16," she said... "Unlike Tibetan matrilineal components inherited from north China immigrants, M16 branched off directly from the genetic components of the ancestors of modern Eurasians," Zhao said.

"M16 has an ancient age of at least 21,000 years, based on calculations through various dating methods in genetics," she said. "Its nearly exclusive distribution in Tibetan populations and ancient age suggest that M16 may represent the genetic relics of the Late Paleolithic inhabitants on the plateau," she said...

Archaeologists have discovered Paleolithic human hand and footprints near Lhasa, the heart of the plateau, and reckoned they dated back about 20,600 years to 21,700 years

[SunkenCiv]

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[autumnraine]

I thought this was a Scientology thread at first glance. lol

[blam]

"(My Sunday Feeling is that Nothing is easy. Goes for the rest of the week too.)"

I thought of this song when I read your tag line.

[JoeProBono]

[AceMineral]

Didn’t the Nazis believe the Aryans came from that part of the world after the last ice age to start their great civilization?

[SunkenCiv]

That was one of, if not the best, of their catalog. :’)

[YHAOS]

Conan’s old stomping grounds!