Reconstructing the genetic formation of Han Chinese from ancient genomes

作者：Limin Qiu, Hongyu Chen, Hui Chen, Chaochao Qin, Mengting Xu, Yiling Jiang, Hao Ma, Qu Shen, Yanying Peng, Xiaolu Mao, Yilan Liu, Baitong Wang, Zhi Ji, Kongyang Zhu, Yu Xu, Le Tao, Haifeng He, Hengyan Zhou, Xinyue Zou, Wang Xinyi, Jiaxin Tang, Jiaxin Tang, Daohua Hao, Chuan-Chao Wang, Xiaokun Wang, Chuan-Chao Wang · 发表于：BMC Biology · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.1186/s12915-026-02541-7 · 研究领域：Forensic and Genetic Research、Genetic Associations and Epidemiology、Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies

BACKGROUND: The formation of the Han Chinese is deeply rooted in the Neolithic cultures of the Yellow River basin, particularly the pivotal Longshan cultural sphere which bridged prehistoric societies and early dynastic civilization. However, the genetic impact of Longshan-era populations on subsequent historical groups remains largely unexplored due to a critical lack of ancient genomic data from this key transitional period. This gap hinders a clear understanding of how early cultural integration in the heartland shaped the genetic structure of later Chinese populations. RESULTS: This study reports 28 newly sequenced ancient human genomes from the Han Dynasty Xujiacundong and Zhouhe archaeological sites in Shandong Province, which are integrated with previously published regional datasets to investigate the genetic legacy of Neolithic Longshan populations in the formation of Han Chinese ancestry. Our analyses reveal pronounced genetic differentiation between Longshan populations from the Central Plain and lower Yellow River basin during the Late Neolithic period. Most individuals from the Xujiacundong site exhibit mixed ancestry, predominantly derived from Central Plain Longshan-related ancestry (93.8%) with a minor contribution from southeastern coastal China-related ancestry (6.2%). In contrast, all individuals from the Zhouhe site exhibit genetic homogeneity with Central Plain Longshan-related ancestry. These results indicate substantial genetic heterogeneity within the ...