The new chronology and material culture of a second millennium BC neolithic site in the heartland of the Tibetan Plateau: Qugong re-excavated

Abstract

Recent archaeological research on the Tibetan Plateau has greatly increased our understanding of the subsistent lifeways of Neolithic populations. The chronology and material culture in Neolithic central Tibet, however, is less clear compared to other parts of the Tibetan Plateau. In this paper, we summarized the analytical results of a recent excavation at Qugong, one of the earliest Neolithic sites in the heartland of Tibet to date. We provided a new radiocarbon Bayesian chronology that dates the early phase of Qugong around 1400–1300 cal BC, which is shorter and later than previously assumed. In light of the new dates and the materials unearthed, our comparison of the materials between Qugong and the Neolithic sites in northwestern South Asia indicates that some cultural elements moved from the western Himalayan region eastward to central Tibet in the late second millennium BCE.