Chinese archaeologists have identified an important Paleolithic site at a record-breaking elevation on the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, shedding new light on early human movement and adaptation, the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Heritage Administration announced.
The site is located near Tsungqen Co, a high-altitude lake in Daocheng County within the Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province, and represents the highest-elevation evidence of ancient human activity yet found in the area.
Full research results were published in the journal Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology by a joint team from Peking University and the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute.
Tsungqen Co, which means “big lake” in the local language, is one of many glacial lakes formed after the Last Glacial Maximum as glaciers retreated. Such lakes would have drawn wildlife and offered crucial resources for prehistoric hunter-gatherer groups.
Situated more than 4,300 meters above sea level, the Tsungqen Co site is part of the well-known Piluo site complex, which was named one of China’s top ten archaeological discoveries in 2021.
The main Piluo site, lying at around 3,750 meters in elevation and dating back more than 200,000 years, is considered the earliest, largest, and richest Paleolithic site on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The Tsungqen Co site, however, lies even higher, with its earliest occupation layers dating to about 12,000 years ago.
Researchers recovered more than 190 stone tools from the site, most of them small to medium in size. The assemblage reflects an advanced microlithic tradition, indicating refined production methods and technological adaptations suited to life at high altitude.
The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau—often called the “Third Pole” because of its extreme height, thin air, and cold climate—has long been viewed as a difficult environment for early human settlement. The discovery at Tsungqen Co represents a major advance in Paleolithic research on the plateau’s eastern edge, significantly expanding knowledge of human presence in high-altitude regions.
“This was likely not a short-term camp, but a place people returned to repeatedly,” said Zheng Zhexuan, lead archaeologist of the Piluo project and head of the Paleolithic Archaeology Institute at the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute.
“It indicates that more than 10,000 years ago, human groups were already using warmer climatic periods to live near highland lakes. They moved into and remained in these high-altitude areas, showing a stable ability to adapt to plateau conditions,” Zheng explained.
Scholars describe the Tsungqen Co site as a vital “spatiotemporal key” that fills an important gap in the archaeological record of human activity on the “roof of the world.” The discovery offers valuable evidence for studying early modern human dispersal routes in East Asia and their survival strategies in challenging environments.
Excavation and interdisciplinary studies at the broader Piluo site are ongoing, with researchers carrying out detailed analyses of dating, environmental context, and material remains to build a clearer picture of ancient life in this region.
