Cross-Dating of Rock Art in the Lake Nam Tso Region, Tibetan Plateau, Integrating Methods of the Natural Sciences and Humanities

The rock art of the Tibetan Plateau has long been studied using stylistic and iconographic methods, with absolute dates remaining largely elusive. In August 2021, a multidisciplinary team surveyed more than 60 rock art localities around Lake Nam Tso, central Tibetan Plateau, recording over 3000 individual images at more than 50 sites on Tashi Island alone. Here we report the results of an integrated dating program that combines (1) iconographic and stylistic analysis, (2) archaeological cross-dating against well-dated objects from Xinjiang, Qinghai (Dulan) and the Upper Indus Valley, (3) cultural-element analysis identifying Sogdian, Tang Chinese and South Asian motifs, (4) radiocarbon (14C) and uranium–thorium (230Th/234U) dating of carbonate accretions associated with painted images, and (5) microerosion analysis of percussion-made petroglyphs. Our results indicate that the painted rock art on Tashi Island is dominated by a 7th–8th century CE component, contemporary with or just preceding the consolidation of the Tibetan Empire, and includes elements demonstrably linked to Sogdian textile iconography (ribboned birds, paired deer), Tang court culture (futou-headed officials, court ladies, ‘antler-style’ trees), and South-Asian Buddhist stupa iconography of the Upper Indus type. Microerosion ages from petroglyphs at Tashi Island, Jialinshan and Xiasang fall in the range c. 2100–1300 BP, substantially younger than previous estimates that placed comparable petroglyphs in the third millennium BP. The combination of approaches demonstrates that integrating scientific dating with stylistic and iconographic analysis is essential for establishing a robust chronology of high-altitude rock art.