(TibetanReview.net, Apr11’25) – China is using current nationalist rhetoric to fabricate narratives which suggest that prehistoric archaeological discoveries made in Tibet recently show the territory to be part of its sovereignty even during such periods when the idea of nationhood as we know it today did not exist.
Announcing that progress was being made at multiple archaeological sites in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), China maintains that these new discoveries highlight “unity in diversity” of Chinese civilization, its current rhetoric to justify claims of sovereignty over occupied territories such as Tibet, East Turkestan (Xinjiang), Inner Mongolia, and numerous other territories.
And so, from claiming that Tibet was part of China since ancient times by rewriting its history, China now engages in “proactive archaeological excavations” to predate this claim into Palaeolithic and Neolithic ages.
Since 2021, the regional institute has collaborated with 12 Chinese research institutions on 34 “proactive archaeological excavations” at 17 ancient sites and tombs, which range from the Palaeolithic and Neolithic to the Early Metal Ages in seven areas of TAR, China’s official globaltimes.cn Apr 10 cited Li Linhui, director of the institute, as saying.
The institute was stated to have announced, concerning its 2024 “Xizang” archaeology work, that archaeological finds at the Palaeolithic sites, including the Shanggagang Site, Xiuma Cave and Gani Site, have provided important evidence for understanding how early humans explored and adapted to life on the Tibetan Plateau, and how these people communicated with surrounding region, the report said. “Xizang” is China’s Sinicized name for Tibet.
The regional institute has also said discoveries at the Neolithic sites of Mabucuo and Lapo reveal the cultural inheritance and exchanges between prehistoric populations in the high-altitude interior of the Tibetan Plateau and surrounding regions, “providing strong evidence for unity in diversity of Chinese civilization.”
Particularly, the Mabucuo Site, which dates from 4,800 to 2,000 years ago, is currently the highest, earliest, longest, and most culturally continuous Neolithic lakeside site discovered on the plateau, the institute has said.
Also, the archaeological discoveries at the Sangdalongguo Tomb and the Kuoxiong Site were stated to have provided data for the study of the Early Metal Age on the Tibetan Plateau. “While findings from the Sangdalongguo Tomb suggest the emergence of social stratification at the time, artifacts unearthed at the Kuoxiong Site show similarities with those found in the western part of Southwest China’s Sichuan Province, indicating possible cultural exchanges between these regions,” the report said.
Besides, the relics excavated from the Wenjiangduo Site, which has a history of over 1,000 years, were stated to show that “close cultural ties existed between the Tibetan Plateau, the Central Plains in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and neighbouring regions, offering key evidence of multi-ethnic interaction along the South Asian corridor of the Silk Road since the 7th century.”
“A large number of archaeological findings reveal that humans arrived at the heart of the Tibetan Plateau 100,000 years ago. Different stages of archaeological cultures developed and flourished in TAR. The archaeological findings vividly demonstrate the historical facts that Xizang is an important component of the unity in diversity structure of the Chinese nation,” Li has told China’s official Xinhua news agency.