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.

青藏高原定居的开始通常被认为与农业或农民从位于高原低海拔边缘的考古遗址的分散有关。以前对高原的研究假设所有觅食者可能都是移动的，但很少对觅食者地点进行系统的挖掘来让我们了解他们的定居模式。在这里，我们报道了 4,400-4,000 年前位于青藏高原腹地深处、海拔 4,446 米的玛布错遗址所展示的世界上海拔最高的久坐生活方式。我们的跨学科研究表明，该地点被高原原住民占据，代表了已知最早的采集者的 DNA 证据，这些采集者主要拥有南部高原血统。证据表明，他们的生活方式主要靠在附近湖泊捕鱼为生，以狩猎哺乳动物和鸟类以及小规模交换小米和水稻作物为辅。