What is it about?
Our study shows how early Holocene hunter-gatherers in Mongolia's Gobi Desert adapted to changing climate and environmental conditions, offering new insights into human subsistence strategies and technology.
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Photo by Victor He on Unsplash
Why is it important?
The area we know today as the Gobi Desert—one of the driest and harshest environments—was once a green, water-rich landscape. Our research indicates that more than 8,000 years ago, lakes were present in this area, surrounded by human settlements. By analyzing stone artifacts, we uncovered not only the technologies used to produce tools but also traces of daily activities such as processing plants and butchering animals—offering a vivid glimpse into how people adapted to changing climate conditions.
Perspectives
Spending several months in the Gobi Desert is no easy task. The days swing between searing heat and biting cold, sandstorms roll in without warning, and life in yurts without running water quickly teaches you to adapt. At times it feels burdensome — but then the desert shows its other side. The vast silence, the raw beauty, and the sense of being in a place almost untouched by humans more than make up for the discomforts. What makes the experience even richer is working with a team of researchers from different countries. Each person brings a different perspective, and together we see how archaeology and geology intertwine to tell the story of prehistory and the palaeoenvironment. Out there, in the emptiness of the Gobi, those connections feel alive and tangible.
Grzegorz Michalec
Uniwersytet Wroclawski
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Geoarchaeological research on site formation process, paleoenvironment, and human behaviors in the early Holocene of the Gobi Desert, Mongolia, PLOS One, September 2025, PLOS,
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0330209.
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