Description |
During the Neolithic, populations migrated from North China to South China. However, few ancient DNA studies investigate the details of that movement. Here, we report 87 complete mitochondrial genomes of 9,500 to 2,000-year-old humans exhumed from 12 archaeological sites across the Shandong province of northern coastal China, an important region and cultural crossroads for the migration of people. Among the Early Neolithic sites (Xiaojinshan, Bianbian, and Xiaogao), we found haplogroups D4b2b2, B4c1c, and B5b2, which are observed in present-day northern and southern Chinese people, indicating that Shandong is one of the earliest regions influenced by the Neolithic migration. Towards the Middle and Late Neolithic, haplogroups C (C7a1 and C7b), M9 (M9a1) from North, and F (F1a1, F2a, and F4a1) from South appeared in Shandong after 4,600 BP, demonstrating likely changes in the Shandong maternal populations since the Longshan cultural period. We also provide evidence for one B5b2 lineage that demonstrates maternal genetic continuity within Shandong between the Early Neolithic and historical period, as well as provide evidence for its wide dispersal into present-day populations of northern China, North Asia, and Japan. Furthermore, we find evidence for genetic exchanges between these Shandong populations related with B5b2 and the rest of China, such as other ancient sites to the west and south of Shandong. |