•ARTICLE• https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-023-1317-3 The earliest evidence for a microblade adaptation in the remote, high altitude regions of the Tibetan Plateau Yingshuai JIN 1,2 , Xiaoling ZHANG 1* , Shejiang WANG 1 , Junyi GE 1,2 , Wei HE 3 , Wa DA 4 , Yunyao TAN 1,2,3 , Ziyi YANG 1,2 , Christopher MORGAN 5 & Xing GAO 1,2 1 Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China; 2 University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; 3 Cultural Relics Conservation Institute of the Xizang Autonomous Region, Lhasa 850000, China; 4 Nagqu Culture and Tourism Bureau, Nagqu 100029, China; 5 University of Nevada, Reno 89557, USA Received December 7, 2023; revised March 25, 2024; accepted April 7, 2024; published online April 16, 2024 Abstract Microblade assemblages are among the most common prehistoric archaeological materials found on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) and are thought to indicate large scale migration to and settlement of the TP. Few microblade sites, however, have been systematically excavated, especially in the remotest, highest-elevation regions of the TP. The timing of the large-scale arrival, spread, and permanent settlement of people on the TP therefore remains controversial. In this paper, we report on a recently excavated site, Locality 3 of the Nwya Devu Site (ND3), located at 4600 meters above sea level (masl), near the shore of Ngoin Lake, on the interior TP. Our analyses reveal a fairly typical microblade technological orientation and two types of microblade cores: wedge-shaped and semi-conical, which are similar to those found throughout North China. Using Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating and AMS 14 C dating, the age of ND3 ranges from 11 to 10 ka. This date range indicates ND3 is the oldest microblade site yet recorded in the remote, high-elevation regions of the TP and thus provides important information about when and how hunter-gatherers using microblades began exploiting the higher altitudes of the TP. Taken together, studies at ND3 and throughout the TP suggest that a microblade adaptation is associated with the first prolonged human occupation of the plateau and that microblades played a significant role in mediating the risks and facilitating the mobility necessary to permanently inhabit the TP. Keywords The interior of Tibetan Plateau, Nwya Devu locality 3, Microblade, Early Holocene, High altitude adaption Citation: Jin Y, Zhang X, Wang S, Ge J, He W, Da W, Tan Y, Yang Z, MorganC, Gao X. 2024. The earliest evidencefor a microblade adaptation in the remote, high altitude regions of the Tibetan Plateau. Science China Earth Sciences, 67, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-023-1317-3 1. Introduction The Tibetan Plateau (TP) entails substantial challenges to human survival including low temperature, hypoxia, and strong solar radiation relative to conditions found in lower- elevation settings at the same latitude (Aldenderfer, 2006; Ma et al., 2014). The question of when people began to occupy the Tibetan Plateau on a large scale is consequently of considerable import. Recent archaeological research has radically altered our understanding of the timing and nature of hominin occupa- tion of the TP. Based on recent analyses of ancient proteins, for example, we now know that Denisovans may have reached the edge of the TP by 160 ka (Chen et al., 2019). In Beshiya Caves in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, sedi- mentary, stone tool, and ancient DNA evidence suggests that Denisovans may have occupied the region as early as 190 ka and likely ca. 100–60 ka as well (Zhang D et al., 2020). © Science China Press 2024 earth.scichina.com link.springer.com SCIENCE CHINA Earth Sciences * Corresponding author (email: zhangxiaoling@ivpp.ac.cn)