Roof of the World

How a Crop Found in Beer Helped Early Man Survive in Frigid Tibetan Plateau

Medicine & Technology In spite of the harsh climate, freezing many regions of Tibet’s upper plateaus in the mountains of Asia, researchers have uncovered a rich anthropological history of the past amidst frozen objects of the past. And what they reveal is that even in the far off past, the surmounting odds against survival in the region known as the “Roof of the World” created many interesting challenges for ancient man.

How Early Man Survived at the ‘Roof of the World’—And Found the Secret to Beer Too

For early man, surviving and conquering niche environments, like that of the Tibetan Plateau of Asia, was a difficult task that required the perfect combination of conditions. Tribes needed to learn how to work together, to traverse harsh terrain, to find/build shelter, and above all they had to learn how to feed themselves year-round. And while the surmounting odds of surviving the domain known as the “Roof of the World” were stacked against them, with extreme altitudes, relentless winds, frigid temperatures and low-oxygen conditions complicating the living conditions they had in their new home, researchers now say that early men were able to conquer this uninhabited ecosystem thanks to a cold-hardy crop used to make beer – barley.
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