Moving on up: The Promise of Multiple Data Sources in Reconstructing Early Population History of High Altitude Sites in Nepal

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Living and Dying in Mountain and Highland Landscapes" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Archaeological research in the high elevation regions of Upper Mustang, Nepal, offer insights into population history in this region through multiple data sources including material culture, genomic, isotopic, and bioarchaeological data. Together, these data have enabled us to address questions of migration, patterns of exchange, quality of life, and burial treatments in several valley systems. Here we compare research at two communal mortuary sites each with a rich assemblage of material culture and human burials: Mebrak (400-50 BCE) with a minimum of 42 individuals and Samdzong (400-650 CE) with a minimum of 105 individuals. Bioarchaeological profiles with regard to trauma, stress, and interpersonal violence are broadly similar between the sites, as is genomic similarity. Yet material culture in the form of metal, glass beads, stylistic motifs on metal objects, and fabrics/dyes, as well as mortuary pattern suggests differences in patterns of interaction with surrounding regions. Specifically, Mebrak appears to have had a more "lowland/south facing" cultural orientation, compared to Samdzong, which shows expanded connections that face to the Tibetan Plateau and Central Asia. The use of multiple lines of evidence thus offers significantly greater opportunities for developing insights into continuity and change in these high elevation environments.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Living and Dying in Mountain and Highland Landscapes   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24199