Humans Occupied Tibetan Plateau Thousands of Years Earlier than Previously Thought (7 of 12) (IMAGE)

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Humans Occupied Tibetan Plateau Thousands of Years Earlier than Previously Thought (7 of 12)

Caption

The primary locus of hand and footprints can be seen just in front of the chorten (a reliquary common in Tibetan Buddhism). The prints have been smoothed and polished by pilgrims such that they are no longer easily visible. The primary saint of this is Milarepa, an important Tibetan yoga born in the 11th C CE. Local tradition attributes the impression of the hand and footprints into the stone to him. This material relates to a paper that appeared in the Jan. 6, 2017, issue of Science, published by AAAS. The paper, by M.C. Meyer at University of Innsbruck in Innsbruck, Austria, and colleagues was titled, "Permanent human occupation of the central Tibetan Plateau in the early Holocene."

Credit

Mark Aldenderfer

Usage Restrictions

Please cite the owner of the material when publishing. This material may be freely used by reporters as part of news coverage, with proper attribution. Non-reporters must contact <i>Science</i> for permission.

License

Licensed content

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.