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Exploratory surveys of prehistoric highland herding facilities in Tibet

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 May 2025

Xinzhou Chen Open the ORCID record for Xinzhou Chen [Opens in a new window] ,
Hailun Xu ,
Xinyi Liu  and
Hongliang Lü Open the ORCID record for Hongliang Lü [Opens in a new window]
Xinzhou Chen
Affiliation:
Centre for Archaeological Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P.R. China School of Archaeology and Museology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P.R. China
Hailun Xu
Affiliation:
Centre for Archaeological Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P.R. China School of Archaeology and Museology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P.R. China
Xinyi Liu
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St Louis, USA
Hongliang Lü*
Affiliation:
Centre for Archaeological Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P.R. China School of Archaeology and Museology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P.R. China
*
Author for correspondence: Hongliang Lü luhl@scu.edu.cn
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Abstract

Multidisciplinary research is deepening our understanding of high-altitude pastoralism on the Tibetan Plateau, but such studies also highlight a strong riverine bias in the location of excavated sites. In a move to address this skewing of the dataset, the authors propose the exploration of modern highland corrals with shovel testing and test excavations as a labour-efficient survey method, streamlined through the identification of potential sites from satellite imagery. Three prehistoric sites were successfully located using this method, the earliest dating to the first millennium BC, encouraging the reconsideration of current survey strategies in Tibet and other mountainous regions.

Keywords

central AsiaTibetan Plateauarchaeological surveyshovel testingpastoralismcorrals
Type
Method
Information
Antiquity , First View , pp. 1 - 13
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Antiquity Publications Ltd

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