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Chapter 07
Ancient Tibet - History and Culture
KUN-LUN
KOKOSHILI
Indus_TI-SE
LDANG-LA -- -
GLA Nal-chu
Nasca
CHINA
€ GNYAN-CHEN-THANG-LHA
gIsang-pe- -
HIMALAYAS
Formation of The Plateau According to one current theory, the Tibetan plateau was assembled from several pieces of land that were added to Asia at different times. This theory is supported by the decreasing age of mountain ranges from north to south, and by the presence of what appear to be suture zones running across the plateau. About 200 million years ago, two distinct land masses joined Asia, one after the other. Both moved together with regions of southeast Asia. A third and final piece arrived 45 million years ago with the Indian plate.
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Red
River
INDIA
THAILAND
VIETNAM
CAMBODIA
MALAYSLA
After Mitchell 1981, Chang Cheng.ta 1973, 1980
Shifting Continents
NORTH CHINA
SIBERIA
KAZAKHS NORTHVS EUROPE
AMERICA EUROPE AUSS LAURASIA
NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN
TIBET TETHYS SEA
TETHYS SEA
SOUTH AMERICA
NORTH AMERICA
ZOUTH EUROPE
AMERICA
W
SIBERIA
La um
TURKEY
TRAN
AFRICA ARABIA SOUTH
IRAN
GONDWANAL AND
TRETI
SOUTH
DJUST
EUROPS
AUSTRALIA
www
INDITE ANTARCTICA
ANTARCTICA
550 MILLION YEARS AGO
250 MILLION YEARS AGO
135 MILLION YEARS AGO
During the long ages of geologic history, the continents have shifted positions many times. Over hundreds of millions of years, the ancient land masses drifted closer together and eventually formed a super-continent known as Pangaea. The southern regions have been named Gondwanaland, while the more northerly regions are called Laurasia. Soon after Pangaea formed, it began to split apart, as the continents drifted toward their modern locations.
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Ancient Tibet
