A dynamic 6,000-year genetic history of Eurasia's Eastern Steppe

Choongwon Jeong; Ke Wang; Shevan Wilkin; William Timothy Treal Taylor; Bryan K. Miller; Jan Bemmann; Raphaela Stahl; Chelsea Chiovelli; Florian Knolle; Sodnom Ulziibayar; Dorjpurev Khatanbaatar; Diimaajav Erdenebaatar; Ulambayar Erdenebat; Ayudai Ochir; Ankhsanaa Ganbold; Chuluunkhuu Vanchigdash; Battuga Ochir; Chuluunbat Munkhbayar; Dashzeveg Tumen; Alexey Kovalev; Nikolay Nikolaevich Kradin; Базаров Биликто Александрович; Миягашев Денис Алексеевич; Prokopiĭ Bati︠u︡rovich Konovalov; Elena Zhambaltarova; Alicia Ventresca Miller; Wolfgang Haak; Stephan Schiffels; Johannes Krause; Nicole L. Boivin

doi:10.1016/j.cell.2020.10.015

GenomicsCellNov 1, 2020

Peer-reviewed journal article

A dynamic 6,000-year genetic history of Eurasia's Eastern Steppe

Choongwon Jeong iD, Ke Wang iD, Shevan Wilkin iD, William Timothy Treal Taylor iD, Bryan K. Miller iD, Jan Bemmann iD, Raphaela Stahl iD, Chelsea Chiovelli, Florian Knolle, Sodnom Ulziibayar iD, Dorjpurev Khatanbaatar iD, Diimaajav Erdenebaatar, Ulambayar Erdenebat iD, Ayudai Ochir, Ankhsanaa Ganbold, Chuluunkhuu Vanchigdash, Battuga Ochir, Chuluunbat Munkhbayar iD, Dashzeveg Tumen, Alexey Kovalev iD, Nikolay Nikolaevich Kradin iD, Базаров Биликто Александрович iD, Миягашев Денис Алексеевич iD, Prokopiĭ Bati︠u︡rovich Konovalov, Elena Zhambaltarova iD, , Christina Warinner iD

Abstract

The Eastern Eurasian Steppe was home to historic empires of nomadic pastoralists, including the Xiongnu and the Mongols. However, little is known about the regions population history. Here we reveal its dynamic genetic history by analyzing new genome-wide data for 214 ancient individuals spanning 6,000 years. We identify a pastoralist expansion into Mongolia ca. 3000 BCE, and by the Late Bronze Age, Mongolian populations were biogeographically structured into three distinct groups, all practicing dairy pastoralism regardless of ancestry. The Xiongnu emerged from the mixing of these populations and those from surrounding regions. By comparison, the Mongols exhibit much higher Eastern Eurasian ancestry, resembling present-day Mongolic-speaking populations. Our results illuminate the complex interplay between genetic, sociopolitical, and cultural changes on the Eastern Steppe.

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