Artist reconstruction of the life of CHO001, a long-distance trader (IMAGE)
Caption
Artist reconstruction of the life of CHO001, a long-distance trader analyzed in this study who suffered from malaria and was buried at the site of Chokhopani, Nepal, ca 800 BCE. The foreground depicts rich agricultural fields in the province of Lumbini, a lowland region afflicted with endemic malaria until the 21st century. Villagers caring for people suffering from malaria fevers are depicted neighboring the fields. The region is made fertile by the waters of the Kali Gandaki River, one of Nepal's largest rivers and a tributary of the Ganges. Its headwaters lie in the northern Mustang region of Nepal, where it is fed by meltwater from the Himalayan mountains. The river's course has long served as an ancient trade route in Nepal, providing passage through the mountainous Mustang region and access to the Kora La pass, the lowest and only route passable year-round through the Himalaya mountains to the Tibetan Plateau. Along the way, villages such as Chokhopani, supplied the traders who seasonally made this dangerous journey to move goods between the lowlands of South Asia and the Tibetan plateau at the roof of the world. Chokhopani is depicted in the upper right, nestled among the cliffs in which CHO001's tomb was found, and tucked among a grove of apricot trees, whose archaeobotanical remains were identified at a nearby site. In the middle of the painting, CHO001 is depicted carrying trade goods with his family and traveling up well-worn paths towards the Kora La pass. He is surrounded by fires symbolizing the cyclical malaria fevers he is experiencing after having contracted Plasmodium falciparum at low elevation. Original artwork by Purna Lama, Boudha Stupa Thanka Centre, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Credit
Purna Lama, Boudha Stupa Thanka Centre, Kathmandu, Nepal
Usage Restrictions
May only be used for reporting on the study by Megan Michel et al. (2024).
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