The genomic origins of the Bronze Age Tarim Basin mummies

Fan Zhang, Chao Ning (), Ashley Scott, Qiaomei Fu, Rasmus Bjørn, Wenying Li, Dong Wei, Wenjun Wang, Linyuan Fan, Idilisi Abuduresule, Xingjun Hu, Qiurong Ruan, Alipujiang Niyazi, Guanghui Dong, Peng Cao, Feng Liu, Qingyan Dai, Xiaotian Feng, Ruowei Yang, Zihua Tang, Pengcheng Ma, Chunxiang Li, Shizhu Gao, Yang Xu, Sihao Wu, Shaoqing Wen, Hong Zhu, Hui Zhou, Martine Robbeets, Vikas Kumar, Johannes Krause (), Christina Warinner (), Choongwon Jeong () and Yinqiu Cui ()
Additional contact information
Fan Zhang: Jilin University
Chao Ning: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
Ashley Scott: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
Qiaomei Fu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Rasmus Bjørn: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
Wenying Li: Xinjiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
Dong Wei: Jilin University
Wenjun Wang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Linyuan Fan: Jilin University
Idilisi Abuduresule: Xinjiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
Xingjun Hu: Xinjiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
Qiurong Ruan: Xinjiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
Alipujiang Niyazi: Xinjiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
Guanghui Dong: Lanzhou University
Peng Cao: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Feng Liu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Qingyan Dai: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xiaotian Feng: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Ruowei Yang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Zihua Tang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Pengcheng Ma: Jilin University
Chunxiang Li: Jilin University
Shizhu Gao: Jilin University
Yang Xu: Jilin University
Sihao Wu: Jilin University
Shaoqing Wen: Fudan University
Hong Zhu: Jilin University
Hui Zhou: Jilin University
Martine Robbeets: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
Vikas Kumar: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Johannes Krause: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
Christina Warinner: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
Choongwon Jeong: Seoul National University
Yinqiu Cui: Jilin University

Nature, 2021, vol. 599, issue 7884, 256-261

Abstract: Abstract The identity of the earliest inhabitants of Xinjiang, in the heart of Inner Asia, and the languages that they spoke have long been debated and remain contentious1. Here we present genomic data from 5 individuals dating to around 3000–2800 bc from the Dzungarian Basin and 13 individuals dating to around 2100–1700 bc from the Tarim Basin, representing the earliest yet discovered human remains from North and South Xinjiang, respectively. We find that the Early Bronze Age Dzungarian individuals exhibit a predominantly Afanasievo ancestry with an additional local contribution, and the Early–Middle Bronze Age Tarim individuals contain only a local ancestry. The Tarim individuals from the site of Xiaohe further exhibit strong evidence of milk proteins in their dental calculus, indicating a reliance on dairy pastoralism at the site since its founding. Our results do not support previous hypotheses for the origin of the Tarim mummies, who were argued to be Proto-Tocharian-speaking pastoralists descended from the Afanasievo1,2 or to have originated among the Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex3 or Inner Asian Mountain Corridor cultures4. Instead, although Tocharian may have been plausibly introduced to the Dzungarian Basin by Afanasievo migrants during the Early Bronze Age, we find that the earliest Tarim Basin cultures appear to have arisen from a genetically isolated local population that adopted neighbouring pastoralist and agriculturalist practices, which allowed them to settle and thrive along the shifting riverine oases of the Taklamakan Desert.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-04052-7

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