When and how was the Tibetan Plateau (TP), one of the least habitable regions on Earth, occupied by humans are important questions in the research of human evolution. Among tens of Paleolithic archaeological sites discovered over the past decades, only 5 are considered coeval with or older than the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, ~27–19 ka). As one of them, Siling Co site in central TP was announced to ~40–30 ka based on radiocarbon dating and stratigraphic correlation. Given loose chronological constrain in previous studies, here we re-examined the chronology of Siling Co site with the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating technique. Four sections from the paleo-shoreline at an elevation of ~4,600 m in the southeastern Siling Co were investigated, with stone artifacts found from the ground surface. Dating results of 9 samples delineated the age of ~4,600-m paleo-shoreline to be ~10–7 ka (~8.54 ± 0.21 ka in average). This age indicates the Siling Co site is not earlier than the early Holocene, much younger than the former age. The revised age of Siling Co site is consistent with the wet and humid climate conditions on the TP during early Holocene.

中文翻译：

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青藏高原中部思陵错旧石器时代遗址的OSL年代学

青藏高原（TP）是地球上最不适宜居住的地区之一，何时以及如何被人类占领是人类进化研究中的重要问题。在过去几十年发现的数十个旧石器时代考古遗址中，只有 5 个被认为与末次盛冰期（LGM，~27-19 ka）同时期或更早。作为其中之一，根据放射性碳测年和地层相关性，青藏高原中部的 Siling Co 站点被宣布为~40-30 ka。鉴于先前研究中的时间顺序限制较宽松，在这里我们使用光受激发光 (OSL) 测年技术重新检查了 Siling Co 站点的年表。对思陵错东南部海拔约 4,600 m 的古海岸线的四个部分进行了调查，并在地表发现了石器。9 个样本的测年结果将~4,600 米古海岸线的年龄划分为~10-7 ka（平均~8.54 ± 0.21 ka）。这个时代表明思陵错遗址不早于全新世早期，比以前的时代年轻得多。修正后的思陵错遗址年龄与青藏高原早全新世湿润气候条件一致。