Higher Knowledge
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ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE LANZHOU UNIVERSITY 110TH ANNIVERSARY The Xiahe mandible, GEOSCIENCES found in Baishiya Karst Cave, was classi ed as Denisovan through paleoproteomic HIGHER analysis. KNOWLEDGE Lanzhou geologists reveal migration story from jawbone found at soaring altitude. single jawbone found in a cave the high-altitude, Tibetan high in the Tibetan Plateau low-oxygen Plateau A has challenged archaeologists’ conditions of the since 5,200 understanding of human migration region, as early as years ago. and evolution. An international team of in the penultimate e study, researchers led by Lanzhou University glacial period, and published in 2015 geologist, Chen Fahu, reported that the researchers suspect in Science, was the Xiahe mandible, named after the county it this genetic trait may have been result of archaeological was found, was dated to around 160,000 passed on to modern Tibetan populations. and archaeobotanical investigation of more years ago, and came from a Denisovan, a More recently at Baishiya Karst Cave, than 200 prehistoric sites in the north- lineage of hominins fi rst described in 2010. the excavating team, led by Chen’s LZU eastern Tibetan Plateau. In 2017, the team Prior to the discovery, a few bone fragments colleague, Zhang Dongju, also found was awarded the fi rst class award of Natural and DNA sequences found at the Denisova abundant Palaeolithic stone artefacts Sciences by the Ministry of Education for Cave in the Altai Mountains, Russia, were all and various species of animal bones with this study and their work was recognized as that had been recovered of this mysterious cut marks on their surfaces, potentially one of the top 10 scientifi c and technological group. providing additional important information progresses by Chinese universities in 2015. Because DNA could not be extracted on Tibetan Denisovan behaviour. In 2016, the team also established the from the mandible, researchers used an e LZU environmental archaeology team, Center for Environmental Archaeology innovative technique known as paleo- since its establishment in the 1990s, by Chen, (CEA) to understand human interactions proteomic analysis. Ancient proteins were who is a member of the Chinese Academy with environmental changes as diff erent extracted from a well-preserved molar and of Sciences, has an enviable track record of groups spread across Eurasia in the matching amino acid sequences classifi ed high-impact publications, with more than prehistoric period. the bone as Denisovan. 80 research papers published in renowned ey also study cultural communications e mandible was discovered in Baishiya academic journals, including Science, Nature, between East and West in the Neolithic Karst Cave in 1980 at an exceptionally high PNAS and Quaternary Science Reviews. e period, along with the formation and altitude of 3,280 metres, compared to the team focuses on questions concerning the evolution of the ancient Silk Road. eir low altitude of Denisova Cave (700 metres). migration and adaptation of prehistoric fi ndings provided crucial scientifi c is is the earliest evidence of a high- humans on the high Tibetan Plateau. Beyond evidence during the implementation ©LANZHOU UNIVERSITY altitude presence of humans on the Tibetan the Xiahe mandible studies, the group of the national ‘Belt and Road’ Plateau, pushing back previous estimates by also reported on the spread of agriculture strategy to help inform 120,000 years. and permanent human occupation on the decisions. e fi ndings, published in Nature, indicate that Denisovans were more widespread than originally thought, successfully populating the Tibetan Plateau before modern humans. It is possible that the Denisovans were adapted to live in Advertiser retains sole responsibility for content.