Quanchao Zhang

Evidence that a West-East admixed population lived in the Tarim Basin as early as the early Bronze Age

BackgroundThe Tarim Basin, located on the ancient Silk Road, played a very important role in the history of human migration and cultural communications between the West and the East. However, both the exact period at which the relevant events occurred and the origins of the people in the area remain very obscure. In this paper, we present data from the analyses of both Y chromosomal and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) derived from human remains excavated from the Xiaohe cemetery, the oldest archeological site with human remains discovered in the Tarim Basin thus far.ResultsMitochondrial DNA analysis showed that the Xiaohe people carried both the East Eurasian haplogroup (C) and the West Eurasian haplogroups (H and K), whereas Y chromosomal DNA analysis revealed only the West Eurasian haplogroup R1a1a in the male individuals.ConclusionOur results demonstrated that the Xiaohe people were an admixture from populations originating from both the West and the East, implying that the Tarim Basin had been occupied by an admixed population since the early Bronze Age. To our knowledge, this is the earliest genetic evidence of an admixed population settled in the Tarim Basin.

Evidence of ancient DNA reveals the first European lineage in Iron Age Central China

Various studies on ancient DNA have attempted to reconstruct population movement in Asia, with much interest focused on determining the arrival of European lineages in ancient East Asia. Here, we discuss our analysis of the mitochondrial DNA of human remains excavated from the Yu Hong tomb in Taiyuan, China, dated 1400 years ago. The burial style of this tomb is characteristic of Central Asia at that time. Our analysis shows that Yu Hong belonged to the haplogroup U5, one of the oldest western Eurasian-specific haplogroups, while his wife can be classified as haplogroup G, the type prevalent in East Asia. Our findings show that this man with European lineage arrived in Taiyuan approximately 1400 years ago, and most probably married a local woman. Haplogroup U5 was the first west Eurasian-specific lineage to be found in the central part of ancient China, and Taiyuan may be the easternmost location of the discovered remains of European lineage in ancient China.

Ancient DNA from nomads in 2500-year-old archeological sites of Pengyang, China.

Six human remains (dating ∼2500 years ago) were excavated from Pengyang, China, an area occupied by both ancient nomadic and farming people. The funerary objects found with these remains suggested they were nomads. To further confirm their ancestry, we analyzed both the maternal lineages and paternal lineages of the ancient DNA. From the mitochondrial DNA, six haplotypes were identified as three haplogroups: C, D4 and M10. The haplotype-sharing populations and phylogenetic analyses revealed that these individuals were closely associated with the ancient Xiongnu and modern northern Asians. Single-nucleotide polymorphism analysis of Y chromosomes from four male samples that were typed as haplogroup Q indicated that these people had originated in Siberia. These results show that these ancient people from Pengyang present a close genetic affinity to nomadic people, indicating that northern nomads had reached the Central Plain area of China nearly 2500 years ago.

Ancient DNA Reveals That the Genetic Structure of the Northern Han Chinese Was Shaped Prior to 3,000 Years Ago

The Han Chinese are the largest ethnic group in the world, and their origins, development, and expansion are complex. Many genetic studies have shown that Han Chinese can be divided into two distinct groups: northern Han Chinese and southern Han Chinese. The genetic history of the southern Han Chinese has been well studied. However, the genetic history of the northern Han Chinese is still obscure. In order to gain insight into the genetic history of the northern Han Chinese, 89 human remains were sampled from the Hengbei site which is located in the Central Plain and dates back to a key transitional period during the rise of the Han Chinese (approximately 3,000 years ago). We used 64 authentic mtDNA data obtained in this study, 27 Y chromosome SNP data profiles from previously studied Hengbei samples, and genetic datasets of the current Chinese populations and two ancient northern Chinese populations to analyze the relationship between the ancient people of Hengbei and present-day northern Han Chinese. We used a wide range of population genetic analyses, including principal component analyses, shared mtDNA haplotype analyses, and geographic mapping of maternal genetic distances. The results show that the ancient people of Hengbei bore a strong genetic resemblance to present-day northern Han Chinese and were genetically distinct from other present-day Chinese populations and two ancient populations. These findings suggest that the genetic structure of northern Han Chinese was already shaped 3,000 years ago in the Central Plain area.

Ancient DNA analysis of human remains from the upper capital city of Kublai Khan

Analysis of DNA from human archaeological remains is a powerful tool for reconstructing ancient events in human history. To help understand the origin of the inhabitants of Kublai Khans Upper Capital in Inner Mongolia, we analyzed mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) polymorphisms in 21 ancient individuals buried in the Zhenzishan cemetery of the Upper Capital. MtDNA coding and noncoding region polymorphisms identified in the ancient individuals were characteristic of the Asian mtDNA haplogroups A, B, N9a, C, D, Z, M7b, and M. Phylogenetic analysis of the ancient mtDNA sequences, and comparison with extant reference populations, revealed that the maternal lineages of the population buried in the Zhenzishan cemetery are of Asian origin and typical of present-day Han Chinese, despite the presence of typical European morphological features in several of the skeletons.

Genetic Structure Analysis of Human Remains from Khitan Noble Necropolis1

Ancient DNA was extracted from 13 skeletal remains from the burial groups of Khitan nobles, which were excavated in northeast China. The hypervariable segment I sequences (HVS I) of the mitochondrial DNA control region, in the 13 individuals, were used as genetic markers to determine the genetic relationships between the individuals and the genetic affinity to other interrelated populations by using the known database of mtDNA. Based on the phylogenetic analysis of these ancient DNA sequences, the genetic structures of two Khitan noble kindreds were obtained, including the Yel Yuzhis kindred and the Xiao Hes kindred. Furthermore, the relationships between the Khitan nobles and some modern interrelated populations were analyzed. On the basis of the result of the analysis, the gene flows of the ancient Khitans and their demographic expansion in history was deduced.

Phylogenetic Analysis of mtDNA from the Ancient Human of Yuan Dynasty in Inner Mongolia in China

A study of the genetic structure of an ancient human excavated from the Yikeshu site of Yuanshangdu ancient city in Inner Mongolia and the relationships between the ancient population and the extant populations was carried out. Sequences of the control region and coding region of mtDNA from the ancient human were analyzed by using direct sequencing and restriction-fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) methods. Phylogenetic analysis and multidimensional scaling analysis were also performed on the mtDNA data of the ancient population and 12 extant populations. These results show that the ancient individuals of Yikeshu site can be assigned to D, G, B and Z haplogroups that are prevalent in Duars and Mongolians from Inner Mongolia. The ancient population is also closer to Duar and Mongolian populations in genetic distance than other compared populations. This study reveals that the ancient population from Yikeshu site in the Yuan Dynasty shares a common ancestor with Mongolic-speaking Daur and Mongolian tribes.