Upwelling-induced productivity in the Arabian Sea infers an out-of-phase relation between the Indian summer monsoon and Northern Hemisphere summer insolation at the precession band but an in-phase relation at the obliquity band. These records contrast speleothem oxygen records showing an in-phase relation between the monsoon and summer insolation in two bands, leaving the driving mechanism for the Indian summer monsoon still unknown. Here we use an isotope-enabled Community Earth System Model, showing that the Indian summer monsoon rainfall and water isotopes respond directly to Northern Hemisphere summer insolation in two bands. This contrasts with the Arabian Sea upwelling which is weakened at precessional minimum but strengthened at obliquity maximum by a stronger northward shift of the monsoon wind due to the stronger summer insolation at precessional minimum compared with obliquity maximum. This paper resolves the longstanding question, supporting the Northern Hemisphere-driving mechanism for the Indian summer monsoon at orbital timescale. Arabian Sea wind patterns respond differently to precession and obliquity cycles, whereas Indian Summer Monsoon rainfall directly follows to Northern Hemisphere summer insolation, according to simulations using an orbitally-forced isotope-enabled Community Earth System Model.

The Tibetan Plateau and surrounding regions played a pivotal role in the spread of foxtail millet ( Setaria italica ) and broomcorn millet ( Panicum miliaceum ) since the late Neolithic period. However, previous research failed to analyze the spatiotemporal distribution and associated environmental factors. Herein, we collected foxtail and broomcorn millet data from 113 Late Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in the Tibetan Plateau region to reconstruct the spatiotemporal distribution, and integrated palaeoclimatic data to identify the extent of environmental factors influencing the distribution using the Maximum Entropy (MaxENT) model and Growing Degree Day (GDD) model. Our results show that the spatiotemporal distribution of millets can be classified into three routes and four stages during 6000 - 3500 cal yr BP. Millet agriculture thrived predominantly in areas below 2500 m asl with average summer temperature ranging from 15 to 25 degrees C. Temperature exerts the most significant influence on the dispersal process, followed by precipitation, distance from reliable water sources, and altitude. These findings provide important environmental insights into the spatiotemporal distribution of millets and dispersal routes surrounding the Tibetan Plateau.

家牦牛在史前人类定居青藏高原的过程中起到了巨大作用,但牦牛的驯化过程仍存在诸多未解决的科学问题.本文梳理了牦牛驯化的考古学和遗传学研究进展,展望了开展牦牛驯化与人类定居青藏高原过程研究的未来方向.家牦牛最早的考古学证据来自距今3750年前的青藏高原南部拉萨河谷,但现代遗传学研究显示,牦牛的驯化可追溯至全新世中期,驯化地点最有可能位于西藏东南部的昌都地区,其种群数量增长与人类大规模长年定居青藏高原高海拔地区的历史高度相关,且黄牛的基因渗入对牦牛的驯化过程产生了深刻影响.基于现有研究进展,本文建议:（1）针对青藏高原考古遗址开展系统性的动物考古学研究;（2）应用ZooMS和古DNA技术筛选和鉴定牦牛骨骼遗存,结合古环境DNA进行遗传学研究,追溯牦牛驯化的时间和地点;（3）开展野牦牛与黄牛的杂交驯化模式研究,理解牦牛驯化及其扩散对史前人类在青藏高原生存和发展的促进作用.

Wild aurochs(Bos primigenius)were once widespread across Eurasia and North Africa but became extinct around the 17th cen-tury[1].Aurochs are considered the ancestor of modern taurine(B.taurus taurus)and indicine(B.t.indicus)cattle,which were inde-pendently domesticated within regions restricted to Southwest Asia and South Asia,respectively[2,3].Extensive gene flow from local aurochs to domestic cattle has been well documented in Southwest Asia,Europe,and Africa[3,4],raising questions about the mechanisms underlying both the domestication and dispersal of early cattle.The introduction of taurine cattle from Southwest Asia,along with other domestic ruminants in ancient China～3900 years before present(a BP)and their arrival on the south-emmost Tibetan Plateau～2500 a BP,is supported by archaeologi-cal and ancient DNA(aDNA)evidence[5-7].

Helium is an irreplaceable strategic mineral resource, and commercial helium-rich gas fields (He>0.1

Often referred to as the “Third Pole”, the Tibetan Plateau combines high elevation, extreme cold temperatures, hyper-aridity, and low oxygen levels. The strategy that early populations adopted to adapt to the harsh environment of the Tibetan Plateau has always attracted much attention. However, relevant studies have predominantly focused on the relatively lower elevation northeastern part of the Tibetan Plateau (<3000 m a.s.l.), with limited study in areas of ultrahigh elevation (>3500 m a.s.l.). This paper employed the flotation method and charcoal analysis of survey profiles from thirteen archaeological sites in the ultrahigh-elevation region of the middle Yarlung Zangbo River basin on the southern Tibetan Plateau, and finds that ancient people have been active in this region since the last deglaciation. The primary fuel sources used by ancient populations were small trees such as sea buckthorn (Hippophae gyantsensis) and shrubs such as juniper (Juniperus). The widespread use of undesirable wood (dwarf thorny shrub) like Sophora moorcroftiana and Caragana, along with the phenomenon of many sites relying on a single taxon, reflects the prevalent issue of fuel scarcity in this ultrahigh-elevation region. This might have been a driving factor for the early adoption of animal dung as a primary fuel source by ancient populations on the southern Tibetan Plateau.

Ancient environmental DNA (aeDNA) is now commonly used in paleoecology and evolutionary ecology, yet due to difficulties in gaining sufficient genome coverage on individual species from metagenome data, its genetic perspectives remain largely uninvestigated. Hybridization capture has proven as an effective approach for enriching the DNA of target species, thus increasing the genome coverage of sequencing data and enabling population and evolutionary genetics analysis. However, to date there is no tool available for designing capture probe sets tailored for aeDNA based population genetics. Here we present eProbe, an efficient, flexible and easy-to-use program toolkit that provides a complete workflow for capture probe design, assessment and validation. By benchmarking a probe set for foxtail millet, an annual grass, made by the eProbe workflow, we demonstrate a remarkable increase of capturing efficiency, with the target taxa recovery rate improved by 577-fold, and the genome coverage achieved by soil capture-sequencing data even higher than data directly shotgun sequenced from the plant tissues. Probes that underwent our filtering panels show notably higher efficiency. The capture sequencing data enabled accurate population and evolutionary genetic analysis, by effectively inferring the fine-scale genetic structures and patterns, as well as the genotypes on functional genes. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.

Commercial helium (He) -rich gas fields have been discovered serendipitously as a by-product of petroleum exploration. As such, the sources of and reasons for the accumulation of He are unclear. In this study, a suite of geochemical diagrams is established to distinguish the three sources of He, i.e., mantle, basement, or sedimentary rocks. The crust -derived He, which is sourced from either basement or sedimentary rocks, is differentiated in view of the diagram of He/N 2 ratio versus He concentrations. Based on the geological and geochemical characteristics of He -rich gas in typical natural gas fields, three models of He accumulation in petroliferous basins are proposed, including accumulation of gases rich in magmatic He constrained by deep faults, accumulation of gases rich in crustal radiogenic He in stable cratonic basins, and accumulation of gases with self -generating and self -preserving crustal radiogenic He. He reserves in the main petroliferous basins in China are evaluated at up to approximately 4.792 x 10 9 m 3 .

The onset of sedentism on the Tibetan Plateau is often presumed to be associated with the dispersal of agriculture or farmers from archaeological sites located in the low elevation margins of the plateau. Previous studies of the plateau assumed that all foragers were probably mobile, but few systematic excavations at forager sites have been conducted to inform us about their settlement patterns. Here we report the world's highest elevation sedentary way of living exhibited by the Mabu Co site at 4,446 metres above sea level, deep in the interior of the Tibetan Plateau 4,400-4,000 years ago. Our interdisciplinary study indicates that the site was occupied by Indigenous inhabitants of the plateau, representing the earliest known DNA evidence of foragers who predominantly harbour the southern plateau ancestry. The evidence shows that they had a sedentary lifestyle primarily supported by fishing at nearby lakes, supplemented by mammal and bird hunting, as well as small-scale exchanges of millet and rice crops. Ancient DNA, stable isotopes and other archaeological methods establish that humans were living at extremely high elevation on the Tibetan Plateau 4,400 years ago, maintaining sedentary lifestyles that combined fishing, hunting and crop exchange.

The domestic yak is a key animal species that facilitated prehistoric human exploring and settling on the Tibetan Plateau, particularly for permanent establishment in the high-altitude areas. It is hence well known as the "boat of the plateau" and "omnipotent livestock". As the most important livestock on the Tibetan Plateau, domestic yak has provided the herdsmen with meat, milk, transport power, fur, fuel and other necessary resources for production and life. However, limited by archaeological materials and disciplinary developments, the domestication process of yak is still not clear. Here we give an overview on the current status of yak domestication and how it is associated with human settlement on the Tibetan Plateau, from a multidisciplinary perspective mainly involving archaeological and genetic evidence, and also discuss into the possible directions for further studies concerning this issue. At present, the skeletal remains of yak unearthed from archaeological sites on the Tibetan Plateau are very limited. There are only 10 archaeological sites on the Tibetan Plateau where yak remains have been unearthed, among which the domestic yak remains unearthed from the Qugong site are the earliest and the most abundant. Available archaeological studies suggest that yak domestication occurred no earlier than 3750 years ago, and the domestication center might have been located in the Lhasa River valley, southern Tibetan Plateau. However, based on genetic analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear genomes of modern yak, its domestication can be traced back to the middle Holocene, earlier than the time indicated by archaeological evidence, and the inferred domestication center is in Changdu, southeastern Tibetan Plateau. The population size of yak is closely related to the human expansion and settlement on the Tibetan Plateau. Agriculture facilitated permanent human occupation of the high-altitude Tibetan Plateau about 3600 years ago, and a six-fold increase in population size of the domestic yak occurred during the same period. The introgression of cattle genes has a profound impact on the domestication process of yak and is an important source for the genetic diversity of yak. At the same time, the introgression of yak genes related to hypoxic adaptation promoted the adaptation of cattle to extreme environment of the Tibetan Plateau. Although ancient DNA is an ideal link between archaeology and genetics, and has been widely used in many species as a powerful means to study animal domestication, no ancient DNA study on yak has been published. Overall, it is still debatable about the timing, region, and process of yak domestication on the Tibetan Plateau, and there are obvious differences in the results of archaeological and genetic studies, mainly due to the lack of systematic zooarchaeological and ancient DNA study of high-altitude archaeological sites on the Tibetan Plateau. The formation and development of nomadic economy, the permanent settlement and the evolution of human livelihood patterns on the Tibetan Plateau have not been well answered. For future studies, the early hybridization between yak and cattle after cattle were introduced to the Tibetan Plateau will likely enable us to better understand the domestication process of yak and the promoting effect of yak domestication on the survival and establishment of prehistoric human on the Tibetan Plateau. More archaeological investigations, excavations, and zooarchaeological studies involving ZooMS and ancient DNA (both on fossil remains and sediments) studies on the Tibetan Plateau are required before we come to a stage for thoroughly addressing the detailed domestication process of yak.

A novel kind of potent HIV-1 protease inhibitors, containing diverse hydroxyphenylacetic acids as the P2-ligands and 4-substituted phenyl sulfonamides as the P2 ' ligands, were designed, synthesized and evaluated in this work. Majority of the target compounds exhibited good to excellent activity against HIV-1 protease with IC50 values below 200 nM. In particular, compound 18d with a 2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl) acetamide as the P2 ligand and a 4methoxybenzene sulfonamide P2 ' ligand exhibited inhibitory activity IC50 value of 0.54 nM, which was better than that of the positive control darunavir (DRV). More importantly, no significant decline of the potency against HIV-1DRV S R (DRV-resistant mutation) and HIV-1NL4_3 variant (wild type) for 18d was detected. The molecular docking study of 18d with HIV-1 protease (PDB-ID: 1T3R, www.rcsb.org) revealed possible binding mode with the HIV-1 protease. These results suggested the validity of introducing phenol-derived moieties into the P2 ligand and deserve further optimization which was of great value for future discovery of novel HIV-1 protease.

The emergence and intensification of transcontinental exchange during both the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age profoundly influenced the social history of Eurasia. While scholars have intensively discussed east-west long-distance communication along the proto-Silk Road, the north-south transport networks that connected China to South and Southeast Asia during the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age have attracted much less attention in the scholarly literature based on archeological science data. In this paper, we find new radiocarbon dates from 11 Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in northwestern and central Yunnan in Southwest China, a key entrance into South and Southeast Asia from China. Combined with previously published archeological records and radiocarbon dates, we attempt to disentangle and understand the timing and routes of the networks linking China to South and Southeast Asia during the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age. We propose three north-south land routes that played essential roles in the cultural exchanges in addition to the proto-Silk Road and maritime routes. This includes the trans-Himalayan routes, trans-Hengduan Mountain routes, and the trans-Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau routes. The north-south exchange between China and South and Southeast Asia probably emerged in the fifth millennium BP (before the present) mainly through a low-frequency trans-Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau and trans-Himalayan routes. The exchange frequency significantly increased after the fourth millennium BP, with the synchronous development of the three primary north-south passageways. Trans-Hengduan routes might have been the most crucial artery connecting China and South and Southeast Asia during 3000–2200 BP, but more archeological records are needed to understand the detailed evolution of these transport networks.

Abrupt changes in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) are thought to affect tropical hydroclimate through adjustment of the latitudinal position of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ). Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1) involves the largest AMOC reduction in recent geological time; however, over the tropical Indian Ocean (IO), proxy records suggest zonal anomalies featuring intense, widespread drought in tropical East Africa versus generally wet but heterogeneous conditions in the Maritime Continent. Here, we synthesize proxy data and an isotope-enabled transient deglacial simulation and show that the southward ITCZ shift over the eastern IO during HS1 strengthens IO Walker circulation, triggering an east-west precipitation dipole across the basin. This dipole reverses the zonal precipitation anomalies caused by the exposed Sunda and Sahul shelves due to glacial lower sea level. Our study illustrates how zonal modes of atmosphere-ocean circulation can amplify or reverse global climate anomalies, highlighting their importance for future climate change.

It has long been recognised that the frigid and hypoxic environment on the high-altitude Tibetan Plateau influences the choices of cooking methods and food compositions. Although commonly used for cooking in the plain areas during the Neolithic Age, the functions of pottery in the high-altitude regions have rarely been examined from archaeological studies. In the present study, lipid residues of pottery fragments from Klu lding (ca. 2900 m a.s.l.) and Khog Gzung (ca. 3900 m a.s.l.) were analysed to present the insight of pottery use and subsistence strategies at different elevations around 3600-3000 BP in the southern Tibetan Plateau. The lipid molecular and isotopic data indicate that vessels were mainly used, though less intensively compared with the plain areas, for the processing of animal fats. At Klu lding, pig adipose fats contribute large proportions of the lipid residues, and leafy plants were used as regular complements to the diets. At Khog Gzung, the broad range of carbon isotopic values points to the wide vertical migrations of the ruminants, implying the hunting of wild ungulates or seasonal transhumance. The first lipid residue analysis performed on high-altitude pottery offers supplementary information about human subsistence strategies for altitudinal adaptations. In the low-altitude regions, the use of local food resources including leafy plants and porcine fats was consistent with the more sedentary lifestyle, providing complements to the early agricultural system. In the high-altitude regions, higher mobility was associated with long-distance hunting or early pastoralism.

系统梳理了近年来的考古发现与研究成果,总结出人类向青藏高原扩散直至定居的5个阶段性发展过程:古老型智人自中更新世晚期就开始了对高原的适应;现代智人于40～30 ka前已经开启了对高原腹地的探索;末次冰消期以来的气候转暖时段,细石器人群向高原大范围扩散,并在全新世早中期的活动更为频繁;粟作农业人群至少在5.2 ka前进入高原东部低海拔的河谷地带,在4.8 ka以后开始定居在高原东部3000 m以上海拔的区域;3.5 ka以来麦作的传入和牧业经济的发展助力人群大规模定居高海拔区域.人类在向高原扩散和定居的过程中经历了漫长的生理与文化适应,但受限于当前考古发现与研究材料,史前狩猎采集、农业和牧业等人群在高原的时空分布、对高海拔环境的生理与行为适应、与低海拔人群和以藏族为主的现代高原人群之间的联系,以及高寒地区河谷农业和山地高原面游牧双重经济活动对高寒文明形成的支撑作用和高寒文明的普适性等问题仍需要深入研究,期待未来多学科交叉融合共同推动对这些问题的理解.

Asian cultivated rice (Oryza sativa) has two main subspecies, indica (O. sativa sub. indica) and japonica (O. sativa sub. japonica). Japonica rice was domesticated in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in China, while indica appeared around 4000 a BP in northern south Asia after hybridization between introduced japonica and indigenous proto-indica. When and how indica rice spread into China is still barely understood, although it is cultivated widely in southern China today. Here we report on the earliest, definite indica rice remains in China, including charred seeds, phytoliths, and ancient DNA, from the newly investigated Kongsangqiao site at an elevation of 2676 m above sea level in Tibet, along with a charcoal study that reveals the vegetation and climate during of human occupation. AMS radiocarbon dating of charred indica rice grains suggests the remains are from the 8th century (700s CE). The dominant identified charcoal fragments are Himalayan pine (Pinus wallichiana), from which a rather cold climate is inferred where indica rice could not be grown in situ, suggesting it was likely brought to the site. Both archaeological and literature records thus support that indica rice, fully domesticated in northern south Asia, had spread to the southern margin of the Tibetan Plateau via parts of the ancient Tang-Tubo Road, Tubo-Nepal Road, by at least the 8th century CE.

The Indo-Pacific Warm Pool (IPWP) is the largest source of atmospheric heating and moisture on Earth, energizing the global moisture and energy budgets and controlling global ocean-atmosphere circulation. However, the mechanisms driving orbital-scale changes in hydroclimate and proxy records of precipitation isotopic composition remain poorly known. Here, we use the isotope-enabled Transient Climate Evolution (iTRACE) experiment to investigate long-term hydroclimate and precipitation isotope changes in the IPWP during the last deglaciation, and their response to different climate forcings (sea level and ice sheet, greenhouse gases, orbital forcing, and meltwater flux). The simulations suggest land-sea configuration as the main factor driving long-term hydroclimate and precipitation isotope changes. The exposure of NW Australian shelf (before 14 ka) excited Bjerknes feedbacks across the equatorial Indian Ocean (IO), leading to a warm/wet western IO and cool/dry eastern IO dipole pattern, with overall drying and more enriched precipitation isotopic compositions over the Maritime Continent. However, the exposed Sunda Shelf and the main body of Sahul Shelf (before 12 ka) experienced locally dry conditions but more depleted precipitation isotopic compositions. Greenhouse gases and orbital forcing contribute to a weaker hydroclimate dipole pattern that opposes the effects of NW Australian shelf exposure. Different regions within the IPWP have different simulated sensitivities to these forcings. The heterogeneous responses of precipitation to different forcings across the Maritime Continent and location-dependent relationships between precipitation and its isotopic composition result from a variety of regional climatological processes and may explain the heterogeneity of isotopic records of hydroclimate around the IPWP.

One long-standing issue in the paleoclimate records is whether East Asian Summer Monsoon peaked in the early Holocene or mid-Holocene. Here, combining a set of transient earth system model simulations with proxy records, we propose that, over northern China, monsoon rainfall peaked in the early Holocene, while soil moisture and tree cover peaked in the mid-Holocene. The delayed ecosystem (soil moisture and tree cover) response to rainfall is caused by the vegetation response to winter warming and the subsequent feedback with soil moisture. Our study provides a mechanism for reconciling different evolution behaviors of monsoon proxy records; it sheds light on the driving mechanism of the monsoon evolution and monsoon-ecosystem feedback over northern China, with implications to climate changes in other high climate sensitivity regions over the globe.

The effect of ice sheet topography on the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) during the Last Glacial Maximum is studied using CCSM3 in a hierarchy of model configurations. It is found that receding ice sheets result in a weakened EASM, with the reduced ice sheet thickness playing a major role. The lower ice sheet topography weakens the EASM through shifting the position of the midlatitude jet, and through altering Northern Hemisphere stationary waves. In the jet shifting mechanism, the lowering of ice sheets shifts the westerly jet northward and decreases the westerly jet over the subtropics in summer, which reduces the advection of dry enthalpy and in turn precipitation over the EASM region. In the stationary wavemechanism, the lowering of ice sheets induces an anomalous stationary wave train along the westerly waveguide that propagates into the EASM region, generating an equivalent-barotropic low response; this leads to reduced lower-tropospheric southerlies, which in turn reduces the dry enthalpy advection into East Asia, and hence the EASM precipitation.