Migration and Diversity in Ancient Xinjiang: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Investigation of Adunqiaolu Population

Summary

The Adunqiaolu site, located in western Xinjiang, belongs to the early Bronze Age and dates to the 19-17 centuries B.C. Archaeological evidence suggests that this group of people may have come from southern and/or southwest Siberia, north of Tianshan. Applying both cranial-metrics and aDNA analysis, this study explores regional variations in western Xinjiang and their relationships to other ancient populations. Ancient DNA analysis indicates that their genes are mainly European, specifically Spanish and German, and the same sequences recovered from human bones dating to the beginning of the Neolithic. However, in the process of migration and through time, there are small amounts of Mongolian gene admixture. Preliminary craniofacial morphological analysis shows that their physical characteristics are very similar to the ancient European type. Compared with modern Eurasian populations, Adunqiaolu ancient population is on a branch of the Europa group, having close genetic affinities with Iranians and Europeans. They show a relatively pure European genetic structure.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Bio-cultural Approach to the Osteoarchaeological Inquiries in China   •
• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16595