Genome-wide data from two early Neolithic East Asian individuals dating to 7700 years ago

2017/02/02 by Veronika Siska, Eppie R. Jones, Sungwon Jeon +14 · 5 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Forensic and Genetic Research #Genetic diversity and population structure #Yersinia bacterium, plague, ectoparasites research #Prehistory #East Asia #Cave #Holocene #Geography #Ancient DNA #Archaeology #Middle East #Ancient history #History #Demography #Population #China

paper · pdf · doi:10.1126/sciadv.1601877

openalex publication_date 2017/02/02 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01

Abstract

Ancient genomes have revolutionized our understanding of Holocene prehistory and, particularly, the Neolithic transition in western Eurasia. In contrast, East Asia has so far received little attention, despite representing a core region at which the Neolithic transition took place independently ~3 millennia after its onset in the Near East. We report genome-wide data from two hunter-gatherers from Devil's Gate, an early Neolithic cave site (dated to ~7.7 thousand years ago) located in East Asia, on the border between Russia and Korea. Both of these individuals are genetically most similar to geographically close modern populations from the Amur Basin, all speaking Tungusic languages, and, in particular, to the Ulchi. The similarity to nearby modern populations and the low levels of additional genetic material in the Ulchi imply a high level of genetic continuity in this region during the Holocene, a pattern that markedly contrasts with that reported for Europe.

Citations

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• Millet agriculture dispersed from Northeast China to the Russian Far East: Integrating archaeology, genetics, and linguistics
• The first horse herders and the impact of early Bronze Age steppe expansions into Asia
• Ancient genomic time transect from the Central Asian Steppe unravels the history of the Scythians
• Koreans [wikipedia]