DNA reveals unexpected origins of enigmatic mummies buried in a Chinese desert krdo.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from krdo.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
An international team of researchers from Jilin University, the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Seoul National University of Korea, and Harvard University have sequenced genomes of thirteen of the earliest known Tarim Basin mummies, dating to circa 2,100 to 1,700 BCE, and five individuals dating to circa 3,000 to 2,800 BCE, from the neighboring Dzungarian Basin. This is the first genome-scale study of prehistoric populations in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The genomic study reveals that the Tarim Basin mummies were genetically isolated since their genomes showed no admixture with other Holocene groups, although neighboring Dzungarian Basin mummies showed genetic mixing. However, proteomic analyses of their dental calculus reveal they were aware of neighboring cultures, cuisines, and technologies.
DNA analysis of several mummies in China suggests that the remains did not belong to newcomers to the area but a local group descended from an ancient Ice Age Asian population.
Genomic analysis of the Tarim Basin mummies indicates they were direct descendants of Ancient North Eurasians (ANE), a group that largely disappeared by the end of the last Ice Age.