An international research team has uncovered a previously unknown "north-south corridor" of human interaction. This prehistoric link connected Early Neolithic populations from the Lake Baikal region of Siberia with those in the Yan Mountain Region (YMR) of northern China, thousands of years before the rise of pastoralism.
The study, published today in the journal Science Bulletin , challenges the long-held view that significant contact between the Eurasian Steppe and northern Chinese agricultural societies only began with the spread of pastoralism and metallurgy in the Bronze Age.
By analyzing 42 ancient genomes from three archaeological sites, dating from 7,700 to 4,300 years before present (BP), the researchers identified a key population that serves as a genetic bridge. These individuals, from the Early Neolithic Sitaimengguying (STM_EN) site in northern China (ca. 7,700-7,400 BP), carried a distinct genetic signature linked to populations from Lake Baikal, specifically descendants of a group known as Ancient Paleo-Siberians (APS).
“The Sitaimengguying population is the critical link,” said Yinqiu Cui, a corresponding author and professor at the School of Life Sciences, Jilin University. “Without their genomes, this prehistoric north-south connection would have remained invisible. They served as a crucial intermediary, preserving the genetic signal from the Baikal region and allowing us to trace this legacy into later populations in northern China.”
This genetic link is strongly supported by rare archaeological evidence. The STM_EN site features unique round-bottomed vessels, a style previously only found in the Lake Baikal region. Furthermore, the burial practice at STM_EN—with males placed in a lateral position with overlapping limbs—was also prevalent at Lake Baikal.
The study also provided a high-resolution genomic snapshot of the Yan Mountain Region, an agropastoral transition zone. The team found that later Late Neolithic individuals from the Jiangjialiang (JJL_LN) site (ca. 4,800-4,300 BP) were genetically heterogeneous. They were the product of an ongoing admixture between the local, northern STM_EN-related groups and southern farming populations migrating from the Yellow River region.
“The Yan Mountain Region was clearly a dynamic border zone, a true sphere of interaction,” said Choongwon Jeong, a corresponding author and associate professor at the School of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University. “We see not just the early north-south connection, but also a continuous north-south admixture later in time. This highlights the YMR's pivotal role in shaping the genetic landscape of northern East Asia.”
This research provides a new, fine-scaled picture of population history in East Asia. By using the Ancient Paleo-Siberian ancestry as a tracer , the team has demonstrated that long-distance connections were shaping human genetics and culture in this region far earlier than previously understood.
Science Bulletin
Data/statistical analysis