Date of Award

8-23-2024

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Anthropology

Advisor(s)

Tom Brutsaert

Second Advisor

Shannon Novak

Keywords

Biological anthropology;Ethnography;Exercise physiology;High altitude;Human adaptation;Hypoxia

Abstract

Abstract This dissertation is an interdisciplinary study of human adaptation to high altitude. High altitude environments are known for being very difficult places for humans to live, for several reasons, but especially because they are characterized by low ambient oxygen tension, i.e., hypoxia. In spite of these challenges, there are several human populations that have lived at high altitude for tens of thousands of years. The two best-characterized highland populations, Andeans and Tibetans, have both been shown to perform better at high altitude than their lowland counterparts. This is thought to be due to a series of adaptations that have developed in each population, either through developmental exposure to hypoxia, or through genetic adaptation via natural selection. Interestingly, although each population has been exposed to the same selective stress for roughly the same period of time, there is evidence to suggest that they may have adapted to this stress in distinct ways. It has been hypothesized that both Andeans and Tibetans maintain higher oxygen delivery than lowlanders, but that each population accomplishes this via distinct physiological mechanisms. However, few studies have directly compared these populations in an attempt to investigate this hypothesis. Further, there has been a tendency in the scientific literature to organize these populations into a hierarchy of adaptedness, in which one population is often described as “better adapted” than another. Thus, this dissertation draws on both physiological and ethnographic data to address two main research questions: 1) When compared directly, what adaptive similarities and differences do Andeans and Tibetans display? and 2) To what extent have scientific narratives around Andean and Tibetan differentness been informed by biological data versus cultural expectations? In addition to contributing to the characterization of each population’s adaptations to high altitude, this dissertation demonstrates the utility of leveraging a combination of biological data, ethnographic data, and social science theorization to generate novel insights.

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Open Access

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