Population expansion from Central Plain to northern coastal China inferred from ancient human genomes

Abstract

The population history of the northern coastal Chinese is largely unknown due to the lack of ancient human genomes from the Neolithic to historical periods. In this study, we reported 14 newly generated ancient genomes from Linzi, one of China’s densely populated and economically prosperous cities from the Zhou to Han Dynasties. The ancient samples in this study were dated to the Warring States period to the Eastern Han Dynasty (~ 2000 B.P). We found the samples derived all their ancestry from Late Bronze Age to Iron Age Middle Yellow River farmers rather than local Neolithic populations. They were genetically homogeneous with present-day Han Chinese of Shandong, suggesting two thousand years of genetic stability. Our results highlight the role of the eastward migration of Yellow River farmers in the Central Plain to northern coastal China in forming the present-day genetic structure of Han Chinese.