Shandong province, located in the Lower Yellow River, is one of the birthplaces of ancient Chinese civilization. However, the comprehensive genetic histories of this region have remained largely unknown until now due to a lack of ancient human genomes. Here, we present 21 ancient genomes from Shandong dating from the Warring States period to the Jin-Yuan Dynasties. Unlike the early Neolithic samples from Shandong, the historical samples are most closely related to post-Late Neolithic populations of the Middle Yellow River Basin, suggesting a population turnover in Shandong from the Neolithic Age to the Historical era. In addition, we detect a close genetic affinity between the historical samples in Shandong and present-day Han Chinese, showing long-term genetic stability in Han Chinese at least since the Warring States period.
Keywords: Ancient DNA; Genetic heterogeneity; Genetic stability; Han; Historical period; Population migration; Shandong; Yellow River.
Copyright © 2024 Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Genetics Society of China. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.