Dr. Li Tang Receives 2025 Otto Hahn Medal

The Otto Hahn Medal is awarded in recognition of outstanding achievements of young scientists

At a ceremony held last week in Frankfurt, Germany, Dr. Li Tang of the Department of Coevolution of Land Use and Urbanization and the Domestication and Anthropogenic Evolution Research Group at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology was awarded the 2025 Otto Hahn Medal.

“The prize is awarded for the groundbreaking multidisciplinary investigation of the dietary and economic adaptations that enabled past human societies to settle the high-altitude Tibetan Plateau,” Max Planck President Patrick Cramer wrote in a letter announcing the award.

Tang’s research explores how past communities across different high-altitude ecosystems of the Tibetan Plateau adapted to the novel agropastoral economies over time. She was the first to identify and systematically map out the diverse dietary adaptations employed by ancient Tibetans. Dr Tang’s findings have overhauled existing models of homogeneous subsistence adaptation, highlighting the importance of diversity and local adaptations to human resilience in extreme environments.

“I am deeply grateful for the support I have received from the Max Planck Society, especially from my supervisors and colleagues across different research groups,” says Tang. “I am also thankful to my collaborators in China, whose openness and encouragement have been invaluable throughout my research journey.”

“My current work delves deeper to explore how ancient diets shaped human health and past societies in Tibet,” says Tang. “I want to continue exploring how archaeology can work across disciplinary boundaries to uncover what past adaptations on the Plateau can teach us about addressing future challenges, including climate change, extreme environments, and health concerns,” she concludes.