Genomic formation of lower Yellow River populations in the Han dynasty
Abstract Background As a key region in the lower Yellow River Basin, Shandong Province plays a central role in understanding the genetic history of East Asia. However, detailed ancient DNA data across its historical periods remains limited. This study aims to characterise the genomic profiles of Sha...
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2025-08-01
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-025-02377-7 |
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| author | Zhi Ji Kui Chen Jiajing Zheng Chaochao Qin Suyun Cui Qu Shen Hao Ma Baitong Wang Xiaolu Mao Yilan Liu Hongming Zhou Xinyue Zou Xinyi Wang Jiaxin Tang Tianlai Ma Wen Wan Kongyang Zhu Le Tao Haifeng He Rui Wang Xiaomin Yang Yu Xu Mengting Xu Tianyou Bai Yiling Jiang Shaoqing Wen Li Jin Qun Zhang Chuan-Chao Wang |
| author_facet | Zhi Ji Kui Chen Jiajing Zheng Chaochao Qin Suyun Cui Qu Shen Hao Ma Baitong Wang Xiaolu Mao Yilan Liu Hongming Zhou Xinyue Zou Xinyi Wang Jiaxin Tang Tianlai Ma Wen Wan Kongyang Zhu Le Tao Haifeng He Rui Wang Xiaomin Yang Yu Xu Mengting Xu Tianyou Bai Yiling Jiang Shaoqing Wen Li Jin Qun Zhang Chuan-Chao Wang |
| author_sort | Zhi Ji |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background As a key region in the lower Yellow River Basin, Shandong Province plays a central role in understanding the genetic history of East Asia. However, detailed ancient DNA data across its historical periods remains limited. This study aims to characterise the genomic profiles of Shandong populations during the Western Han Dynasty and trace their genetic connections with neighbouring regions. Results Here, we newly generated 14 ancient genomes from the Wenshaobei site of the Western Han dynasty in Shandong Province. Genetic analyses, including principal component analysis (PCA), ADMIXTURE, and f-statistics, revealed that the Wenshaobei population was genetically distinct from Early Neolithic Shandong hunter-gatherers but closely aligned with Middle Neolithic to Iron Age populations from the middle and lower Yellow River Basin. This indicates strong genetic continuity with millet-farming societies from the middle Yellow River, supplemented by minor influences from southern rice-farming groups. Modern Han Chinese in Shandong share a core genetic foundation with ancient populations, such as Wenshaobei. Conclusions Our findings highlight the role of the lower Yellow River Basin as a nexus of genetic exchange between northern millet-farming and southern rice-farming cultures, with sustained genetic influences from the middle Yellow River shaping the demographic landscape from the Neolithic to the Han Dynasty. The study provides critical insights into the formation of East Asian populations, underscoring the interplay between agriculture, migration, and genetic diversity in this cradle of ancient Chinese civilization. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a9bbfb311f2041e7a1899ab595a52001 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1741-7007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Biology |
| spelling | doaj-art-a9bbfb311f2041e7a1899ab595a520012025-08-24T11:50:22ZengBMCBMC Biology1741-70072025-08-0123111410.1186/s12915-025-02377-7Genomic formation of lower Yellow River populations in the Han dynastyZhi Ji0Kui Chen1Jiajing Zheng2Chaochao Qin3Suyun Cui4Qu Shen5Hao Ma6Baitong Wang7Xiaolu Mao8Yilan Liu9Hongming Zhou10Xinyue Zou11Xinyi Wang12Jiaxin Tang13Tianlai Ma14Wen Wan15Kongyang Zhu16Le Tao17Haifeng He18Rui Wang19Xiaomin Yang20Yu Xu21Mengting Xu22Tianyou Bai23Yiling Jiang24Shaoqing Wen25Li Jin26Qun Zhang27Chuan-Chao Wang28Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Philosophy and Social Sciences in Bioanthropology, Institute of Anthropology, Xiamen UniversityLinzi Institute of Cultural Relics and ArchaeologySchool of Life Sciences, Xiamen UniversityShandong Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and ArchaeologyLinzi Cultural Tourism Comprehensive Law Enforcement BrigadeFujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Philosophy and Social Sciences in Bioanthropology, Institute of Anthropology, Xiamen UniversitySchool of Life Sciences, Xiamen UniversityFujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Philosophy and Social Sciences in Bioanthropology, Institute of Anthropology, Xiamen UniversityFujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Philosophy and Social Sciences in Bioanthropology, Institute of Anthropology, Xiamen UniversitySchool of Life Sciences, Xiamen UniversityFujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Philosophy and Social Sciences in Bioanthropology, Institute of Anthropology, Xiamen UniversityFujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Philosophy and Social Sciences in Bioanthropology, Institute of Anthropology, Xiamen UniversityFujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Philosophy and Social Sciences in Bioanthropology, Institute of Anthropology, Xiamen UniversityFujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Philosophy and Social Sciences in Bioanthropology, Institute of Anthropology, Xiamen UniversityXizang Minzu UniversityDepartment of Forensic Medicine, Guizhou Medical UniversitySchool of Life Sciences, Xiamen UniversitySchool of Life Sciences, Xiamen UniversitySchool of Life Sciences, Xiamen UniversitySchool of Life Sciences, Xiamen UniversitySchool of Life Sciences, Xiamen UniversitySchool of Life Sciences, Xiamen UniversitySchool of Life Sciences, Xiamen UniversitySchool of Life Sciences, Xiamen UniversitySchool of Life Sciences, Xiamen UniversityInstitute of Archaeological Science, Fudan UniversityState Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Collaborative Innovation Center for Genetics and Development, School of Life Sciences and Human Phenome Institute, Fudan UniversityDepartment of Archaeology, School of History, Wuhan UniversityMinistry of Education Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, Center for Evolutionary Biology, Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan UniversityAbstract Background As a key region in the lower Yellow River Basin, Shandong Province plays a central role in understanding the genetic history of East Asia. However, detailed ancient DNA data across its historical periods remains limited. This study aims to characterise the genomic profiles of Shandong populations during the Western Han Dynasty and trace their genetic connections with neighbouring regions. Results Here, we newly generated 14 ancient genomes from the Wenshaobei site of the Western Han dynasty in Shandong Province. Genetic analyses, including principal component analysis (PCA), ADMIXTURE, and f-statistics, revealed that the Wenshaobei population was genetically distinct from Early Neolithic Shandong hunter-gatherers but closely aligned with Middle Neolithic to Iron Age populations from the middle and lower Yellow River Basin. This indicates strong genetic continuity with millet-farming societies from the middle Yellow River, supplemented by minor influences from southern rice-farming groups. Modern Han Chinese in Shandong share a core genetic foundation with ancient populations, such as Wenshaobei. Conclusions Our findings highlight the role of the lower Yellow River Basin as a nexus of genetic exchange between northern millet-farming and southern rice-farming cultures, with sustained genetic influences from the middle Yellow River shaping the demographic landscape from the Neolithic to the Han Dynasty. The study provides critical insights into the formation of East Asian populations, underscoring the interplay between agriculture, migration, and genetic diversity in this cradle of ancient Chinese civilization.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-025-02377-7Ancient DNAShandongGenetic relationshipHan Dynasty |
| spellingShingle | Zhi Ji Kui Chen Jiajing Zheng Chaochao Qin Suyun Cui Qu Shen Hao Ma Baitong Wang Xiaolu Mao Yilan Liu Hongming Zhou Xinyue Zou Xinyi Wang Jiaxin Tang Tianlai Ma Wen Wan Kongyang Zhu Le Tao Haifeng He Rui Wang Xiaomin Yang Yu Xu Mengting Xu Tianyou Bai Yiling Jiang Shaoqing Wen Li Jin Qun Zhang Chuan-Chao Wang Genomic formation of lower Yellow River populations in the Han dynasty BMC Biology Ancient DNA Shandong Genetic relationship Han Dynasty |
| title | Genomic formation of lower Yellow River populations in the Han dynasty |
| title_full | Genomic formation of lower Yellow River populations in the Han dynasty |
| title_fullStr | Genomic formation of lower Yellow River populations in the Han dynasty |
| title_full_unstemmed | Genomic formation of lower Yellow River populations in the Han dynasty |
| title_short | Genomic formation of lower Yellow River populations in the Han dynasty |
| title_sort | genomic formation of lower yellow river populations in the han dynasty |
| topic | Ancient DNA Shandong Genetic relationship Han Dynasty |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-025-02377-7 |
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