国产精品99一区二区三_免费中文日韩_国产在线精品一区二区_日本成人手机在线

Researchers confirm earliest archaeological site on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-17 15:52:54|Editor: Yamei
Video PlayerClose

Photo taken on June 14, 2019 shows some pieces of animal bone fossils found in the Baishiya Karst Cave in Xiahe County, northwest China's Gansu Province. (Xinhua/Li Jie)

LANZHOU, June 17 (Xinhua) -- A karst cave in northwestern China has been confirmed as the earliest archaeological site ever discovered on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Chinese researchers announced at a press conference over the weekend.

The study led by Chinese archaeologists showed that a piece of a human fossil found in the Baishiya Karst Cave in Xiahe County, Gansu Province, is believed to belong to the ancient Denisovans, who lived around 160,000 years ago.

The findings have provided direct evidence of the Denisovans outside the Altai Mountains, and considerably prolonged human history on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, one of the highest and most ecologically-challenging places on the globe.

The findings were published in the journal Nature in May.

According to Zhang Dongju, associate professor with the College of Earth and Environmental Sciences of Lanzhou University and leader of the excavation work, the team started excavation in 2018 and found over 1,400 stone artifacts and about 600 pieces of animal bone fossils in the cave.

Analysis of the stone artifacts and the fossils indicated that they were from more than 40,000 years ago and believed to belong to Paleolithic epoch.

The Baishiya Karst Cave, located 3,280 meters above sea level, is thus the earliest archaeological site ever identified on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Chen Fahu, a lead scientist of the study and academician of Chinese Academy of Science, added that the abundant artifacts and animal bone fossils confirmed that humans had successfully adapted to the high-altitude environment.

The discoveries are expected to offer a clue to how ancient humans on East Asia continent had evolved, according to the researchers.

"As of now, we are not very sure if these stone artifacts and animal bones have direct connections with the Xiahe Denisovans, but we will continue on with further study," Chen said.

KEY WORDS: Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,archaeological site
EXPLORE XINHUANET
010020070750000000000000011103261381506061
主站蜘蛛池模板: 伽师县| 诸暨市| 措美县| 通化县| 沂源县| 贺兰县| 台北市| 江口县| 通城县| 体育| 社旗县| 江源县| 五河县| 合山市| 平山县| 华安县| 阜阳市| 奎屯市| 玉屏| 松江区| 磐石市| 香河县| 富阳市| 庆城县| 三江| 柞水县| 长子县| 甘德县| 平定县| 阳山县| 厦门市| 阿拉善盟| 论坛| 龙山县| 平定县| 封丘县| 辽源市| 诸暨市| 全南县| 蓬溪县| 临夏县|