Ancient DNA reveals a migration of the ancient Di‐qiang populations into Xinjiang as early as the early Bronze Age

Abstract

Xinjiang is at the crossroads between East and West Eurasia, and it harbors a relatively complex genetic history. In order to better understand the population movements and interactions in this region, mitochondrial and Y chromosome analyses on 40 ancient human remains from the Tianshanbeilu site in eastern Xinjiang were performed. Twenty-nine samples were successfully assigned to specific mtDNA haplogroups, including the west Eurasian maternal lineages of U and W and the east Eurasian maternal lineages of A, C, D, F, G, Z, M7, and M10. In the male samples, two Y chromosome haplogroups, C* and N1 (xN1a, N1c), were successfully assigned. Our mitochondrial and Y-chromosomal DNA analyses combined with the archaeological studies revealed that the Di-qiang populations from the Hexi Corridor had migrated to eastern Xinjiang and admixed with the Eurasian steppe populations in the early Bronze Age.

Analysis of ancient human mitochondrial DNA from the Xiaohe cemetery: insights into prehistoric population movements in the Tarim Basin, China

“…U5a is a very ancient and important European haplogroup and is thought to have expanded eastward into central Siberia. It has been observed in human remains of the Neolithic in the Baikal regions and the Bronze Age in the Altai and Xinjiang [ 39 , 43 , 44 ]. The U2e sequence observed in Xiaohe did not match any sequence in our database, the most matching sequences (showing one to two np differences) were mainly found in Europe.…”

“…The U2e sequence observed in Xiaohe did not match any sequence in our database, the most matching sequences (showing one to two np differences) were mainly found in Europe. U2e also was an ancient European lineage like U5, and had spread into Central Eurasia in the Bronze Age [ 31 , 39 , 44 ]. The presence of individuals of Hgs H, T, U5a and U2e in Xiaohe indicates maternal lineages with an ultimate origin in Europe.…”

“…The remaining two D haplotypes had no exact match in any of the available databases. Interestingly, hg D has been observed at high frequency in Hami people, a Bronze Age population of northeast Xinjiang [ 44 ]. It is also been observed in Neolithic Chinese and Siberians [ 43 , 55 ].…”

“…However, hgs C and D have also been observed in Bronze Age human remains from North Xinjiang (Hami), a place where culture and human features appear to indicate a blend of both east and west. DNA analysis showed that the Hami people had close affinities with Neolithic people in Ganqing region of China [ 44 ]. Recently archaeobotanical analysis considered that East Asian domesticated broomcorn likely was introduced into Central Eurasia via the route of North Xinjiang from Ganqing region at middle third millennium BC.…”

Thirty‐Four Years of Stable Isotopic Analyses of Ancient Skeletons in China: an Overview, Progress and Prospects

“…Archaeological evidence from physical anthropological studies, ancient DNA analyses and archaeobotanical studies shows that humans were an admixture of European and Mongolian traits (Gao et al . ; Wei ) and that multiple crops, such as wheat, barley and millets, have been grown together (Yang et al . ; Jiang et al .…”