Ancient DNA reveals millennia of mixing in Central Asia
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Researchers in China analyzed ancient DNA from 135 individuals who lived in the Tianshan Mountains of Xinjiang, China, between 3580 and 1546 years ago. Their work shows that people moved through this region nearly 1800 years before the Silk Road became well known.
The team discovered that the main population during the Bronze Age came from a combination of two groups, people connected to early agricultural communities in the Yellow River valley and those linked to the Chemurchek culture of the Altai Mountains and Jungar region. The study also identified individuals with ancestry from areas further afield, including Central Asia and Mongolia. This indicates that the Tianshan Mountains served as a crossroads for diverse groups from multiple directions.
Genetic analysis revealed that this pattern of mixing continued into the Iron Age, with the core genetic structure of the Bronze Age population remaining stable while new influences arrived from surrounding regions. This research suggests that population exchange and genetic blending in the area happened long before formal trade routes like the Silk Road developed, highlighting the Tianshan Mountains’ role in connecting eastern and western Eurasia for nearly two millennia.
