Where did Proto-Sino-Tibetan speakers likely live?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

relationships among the Tibeto-Burman languages — Tibeto-Burman languages Relationships among the Tibeto-Burman languages.

The Proto-Sino-Tibetan (PST) homeland is believed to have been located on the Plateau of Tibet. This region is significant as the source of several major rivers in East and Southeast Asia, including the Huang He (Yellow River), Yangtze (Chang Jiang), Mekong, Brahmaputra, and Salween.1

Scholars hypothesize that during the period of Sino-Tibetan unity—estimated to be at least as remote as the Proto-Indo-European period, or approximately 4000 bce—the ancestors of the Proto-Han (Proto-Chinese) and the Tibeto-Burman peoples existed as a relatively undifferentiated linguistic community in this area. Over time, these groups migrated outward along the river valleys.1