Prehistoric human hand and footprints in Quesang on the central Tibetan Plateau from the Bølling-Allerød Interstadial

Multidisciplinary research has examined prehistoric human adaptation and survival in the Tibetan Plateau’s alpine and hypoxic environment. As an important prehistoric human hand and footprint site for studying prehistoric human activities, Quesang, on the central Tibetan Plateau, has witnessed prehistoric human arrivals at least twice: in the Middle Pleistocene and early-middle Holocene. Recent investigations along the gully incised by water flow of the active spring have discovered a series of prehistoric human footprints and repeated trampling marks on the residual travertine in the different locations of gully and their ichnological characteristics and ages are unknown. To determine whether and when the imprints were left by Hominin and explore their association with the surrounding environment and landform evolution, we conducted detailed stratigraphic and geomorphological analysis of travertine deposit, 3D modelling and morphological study of hand and footprints, as well as Uranium–Thorium and optically stimulated luminescence dating of hand and footprints and strata. Based on these analyses, we obtained the following results: The active hot springs formed after 17.37 ka BP, probably when the Bølling-Allerød Interstadial began. The newly discovered footprints and repeated trampling traces are ichnologically identified as Hominin traces, which were unintentionally impressed at ~ 8.5–9.2 ka BP and ~ 14.2 ka BP, respectively, and are related to the development of the gully. In the cold, dry, and anoxic environment of the Tibetan Plateau, the Quesang hot spring is undoubtedly a very attractive survival resource, attracting prehistoric humans to frequently patronise it for a long time. The discovery of these imprints provides new evidence of prehistoric human expansion and occupation on the Tibetan Plateau before and in the Holocene.