Archaeological evidence for initial migration of Neolithic Proto Sino-Tibetan speakers from Yellow River valley to Tibetan Plateau

Sino-Tibetan is the second largest language family in the world, spoken by more than 1.3 billion people, predominately in China. It originated in the Yellow River region around 8,000 y ago and expanded to the Tibetan Plateau by 6,000-5,000 y ago during the Neolithic Yangshao culture. This study presents the archaeological investigation into the lifeways of Proto Sino-Tibetan speakers, who migrated from the Yellow River to the NW Sichuan highlands. They may have integrated with indigenous hunter-gatherers and adopted broad-spectrum subsistence strategies, consisting of millet farming and local wild resource foraging. They retained important ritual traditions, particularly the alcoholic fermentation method and communal ritual drinking associated with dancing performances, which likely helped maintain their cultural identity and social values.