Fig. 1

Map of the Qaidam Basin region, showing the sites sampled during this study and the distribution of other Bronze Age sites in the region: (1) Dalitaliha; (2) Tawendaliha; (3) Xiaeryamakebu; (4) Ke’er; (5) Xiachaikai; (6) Chaixinxinan; (7) Xiachacha; (8) Hongshanzui; (9) Haer·Xierge. The map was created using QGIS (https://www.osgeo.org/projects/qgis/).