At the invitation of Prof. Z. P. Lai, US Scientists David B. Madsen and David Rhode paid a visit to ISL during June 7 to July 2, 2009. Dr. Madsen is now a research fellow at the Texas Archaeological Research Laboratory, the University of Texas at Austin. He has been engaged in studies of lacustrine and human adaptation to environmental changes. Most of this research has involved the organization and management of large multi-disciplinary projects focused principally on two areas of the world: the mountain and valley systems in the Great Basin of western North America and a similar area of mountain and desert internal drainage systems in western China and Tibet. He has authored various influential papers on a number of international journals and published several academic books, including Late Quaternary Climate Change and Human Adaptation in Arid China and Man and Environment in the Great Basin. Dr. Rhode is a research professor at Desert Research Institute of USA. His main focus of research concerns prehistoric human adaptations and paleoenvironmental change in arid environments.
During the visit, Drs Madsen and Rhode delivered lectures titled Lake history and cultural change in the older river bed delta, Bonneville Basin, U.S.A. and ‘Highland’ Foragers ‘Lowland’ Farmer Relation, respectively on the afternoon of June 8th. In his report, Dr. Madsen elaborated on how human beings had changed their habitats to adapt themselves to varied living surroundings in response to the constant climatic and environmental variations. He addressed the reversal landform phenomenon that the present highlands in Bonneville Basin had once been lowlands and lowlands been highlands. Rhode lectured on the relations between highland foragers and lowland farmers on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. He pointed out that ancient human occupation of the plateau had experienced two stages: (1) inhabitation from peripheral areas around 1500 m above sea level (ASL) to the edges of the plateau around 3000 m ASL, and (2) inhabitation from areas around 3000 m ASL to the plateau interior above 4000 m ASL.
During their visit, Drs Madsen and Rhode had conducted field investigations at Qinghai Lake and Qaidam Basin in collaboration with Dr. Lai's study group.