Upper East Asia (7,821–6,094 BCE): Early Holocene — Lakefront Hamlets & High-Pasture Hunts

Geographic and Environmental Context

Upper East Asia includes Mongolia, Tibet, and the western highlands of China (Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, NW Sichuan).

Anchors: Altai–Gobi margins, Ordos–Loess Loop, Tarim–Junggar basins, Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (Amdo, Kham), Qilian–Kunlun–Tianshan ranges, Hexi Corridor.

Climate

• Holocene optimum; Qinghai, Tarim lakes high; alpine meadows verdant

Subsistence & Settlement

• Semi-sedentary camps on lake terraces; fish, lotus-like rhizomes, antelope.

• Plateau summer hunts (wild yak, blue sheep); winter in basin shelters.

Technology

• Ground-stone mortars; microlithic composites; woven mats/nets.

• Post-built dwellings on lakeshores.

Movement Corridors

• Hexi–Loess connection; Altai–Dzungar transits; Kukunor pilgrimage/gathering.

Symbolism

• Petroglyphs of caprids; cairn-offerings at passes; burial mounds with ochre.

Adaptation

• Stored dried fish; mixed resource portfolios stabilized camps.

Transition
By 6,094 BCE, lakefront “villages” and plateau rounds foreshadowed pastoral–horticultural shifts.