Ancient Xinjiang residents had Yellow River roots
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Scientists studying remains from the Tianshanbeilu cemetery in Xinjiang, China, discovered that half of the DNA from people buried there came from farmers who lived along the Yellow River.
The Hami oasis cemetery, located 500km east of Urumqi, held over 700 Bronze Age tombs previously thought to belong to nomadic groups migrating from the Eurasian steppes.
However, a new analysis of genetic material showed these people had ancestry from both Yellow River farmers and groups from the steppes, creating a mixed population. This discovery challenges earlier assumptions about the region’s early inhabitants during the Shang dynasty, which lasted from 1600 to 1050 BC. Researchers published their findings in the journal Science, offering new insight into the complex population history of Xinjiang, a region between the Tianshan Mountains and the Gobi Desert.
The study revealed a population distinct from both the known steppe nomads and the Yellow River agricultural communities. The Tianshanbeilu cemetery provides the oldest known burial site in the Xinjiang region, and the genetic findings suggest a more diverse and interconnected history than previously understood.
