The demic expansion of Yangshao culture inferred from ancient human genomes

Originating from the middle Yellow River, Yangshao culture is one of the most influential archaeological cultures in Neolithic China. It has long been debated whether there was a genetic substructure between the core Yangshao sites and those representing regional variants of the Yangshao culture, such as the Qinwangzhai culture. The excavated human remains from the burials at the Zhanmatun site, which belonged to the Qinwangzhai culture, present ideal material for inferring the population dynamics accompanying the cultural expansion.


Results

In this study, we analyzed genome-wide data from 12 human remains obtained from the Zhanmatun site. The results indicated that Zhanmatun individuals were genetically homogeneous with all published Yangshao culture-related individuals from the core region of Yangshao and its periphery as well as Late Dawenkou culture-related Xixiahou people in the east, with no tracts of genetic influence from Neolithic Southern East Asian in the south.


Conclusions

Our findings support a demic diffusion model for Yangshao culture expansion, where human migration, rather than mere cultural diffusion, played a dominant role in spreading Yangshao-related ancestry across northern China.
背景

仰韶文化起源于黄河中游，是中国新石器时代最具影响力的考古学文化之一。长期以来，人们一直争论仰韶文化核心遗址与代表仰韶文化区域变体（例如秦王寨文化）的遗址之间是否存在遗传亚结构。在属于秦王寨文化的站马屯遗址墓葬中出土的人类遗骸，为推断伴随文化扩张的人口动态提供了理想的材料。


结果

本研究分析了站马屯遗址12具人类遗骸的全基因组数据。结果表明，站马屯遗址个体与仰韶文化核心区及其周边所有已发表的仰韶文化相关个体以及东部大汶口文化晚期相关的西夏后人具有遗传同源性，而南部未发现来自新石器时代东亚南部人群的遗传影响。


结论

我们的研究结果支持仰韶文化扩张的人口扩散模型，即人类迁徙而非单纯的文化扩散，在仰韶相关血统向中国北方传播的过程中发挥了主导作用。