Ancient DNA analysis sheds light on the ranges and lineages of ancient bovids and rhinoceroses in Tibet, according to a study. Prehistoric bovid remains are common in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau (NETP). However, the lineage and range of NETP bovid species are unknown. Xiaoming Zhang, Guanghui Dong, Bing Su, and colleagues analyzed DNA of approximately 5,200-years-old bovid and rhinoceros specimens from the Neolithic NETP site of Shannashuzha (SNSZ). Comparisons of ancient bovid DNA with the DNA of modern Bovini species found that SNSZ bovids were genetically similar to modern Asian wild gaur and diverged from extant gaur and gayal lineages approximately 18,000 years ago. Comparisons of ancient and extant rhinoceroses revealed that SNSZ rhinoceroses were a sister clade of Sumatran rhinoceroses. The range of extant tropical gaurs and Sumatran-like rhinoceroses extended up to 34.06°N approximately 5,200 years ago. Population reconstructions revealed declining SNSZ gaur populations approximately 5,000 years ago, consistent with paleoclimatic records of the NETP transitioning to a cold climate around that time. However, rhinoceroses roamed throughout the NETP between 8,000 to 6,000 years ago, revealing a warm and moist environment at the time. Radiocarbon dating of NETP archaeological sites found an increase in human settlements with domestic animal pastures between 6,000 and 3,000 years ago. The findings suggest that climatic change and human activities contributed to the disappearance of gaur and Sumatran-like rhinoceroses from middle and high latitudes, leading to the animals' distribution in tropical regions, according to the authors.
Article #20-11696: "Ancient genomes reveal tropical bovid species in the Tibetan Plateau contributed to the prevalence of hunting game until the late Neolithic," by Ningbo Chen et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Xiaoming Zhang, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, CHINA; tel: +087165196346; e-mail: aqkaqssaq24670@163.com, zhangxiaoming@mail.kiz.ac.cn
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Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences