Carol Cao dc798@cam.ac.uk
China
Archaeology, St Catharine's College
PhD thesis: Long term perspectives on human adaptive strategies at high-altitude: a comparative study of archaeological Himalayan residents from the Tibetan Plateau
Research interests:
1. High-altitude adaptation
2. Life history in the highland Himalaya
3. Past human health and development
4. Osteoachaeology
My PhD programme focuses on the human adaptation to extreme high-altitude environments, specifically in the Himalayas. Genetic and archaeological data have suggested several patterns of human adaptation and movement to this vast plateau; however, given the limited human skeletons discovered in archaeological sites, the antiquity of these physiological and cultural (e.g., herding lifestyle and trade) solutions to high-elevation conditions, such as hypoxia and harsh climate, remains unclear. To address this issue, I will carry out comparative research on the newly discovered human skeletons of ancient Tibetan residents and other lowlanders in China. By documenting their morphological and genetic characteristics, this study is expected to clarify the historical interrelation between environments culture, and human biology in shaping adaptive patterns to extreme conditions at high altitude.
Who or what inspired you to pursue your research interests?
I was inspired to pursue my research interests by my mater’s project. I worked on human skeletons from Phiyang-Dungkar site (4,030-4,200 masl, 4th B.C.-6th century A.D.), Ngari, Tibet, as my master’s thesis, where I developed my knowledge about commingled skeletal assemblages and became interested in human life history in the high-altitude Himalaya. I then decided to further my exploration of how humans adapted and achieved permanent living in this vast plateau in Ph.D at Cambridge University.