Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41652444›Full record

ArticleBMC biology2026

Reconstructing the genetic formation of Han Chinese from ancient genomes.

Limin Qiu, Haodong Chen, Hui Chen, Chaochao Qin, Mengting Xu, Yiling Jiang, Hao Ma, Qu Shen, Yanying Peng, Xiaolu Mao and 14 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

24 authors.

Limin Qiu *School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China.
Haodong Chen *Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, Center for Evolutionary Biology, Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China.
Hui Chen *School of History, Renmin University of China, Beijing, 100872, China.
Chaochao Qin *Shandong Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Jinan, 250012, China.
Mengting XuSchool of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China.
Yiling JiangSchool of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China.
Hao MaSchool of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China.
Qu ShenFujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Philosophy and Social Sciences in Bioanthropology, Institute of Anthropology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China.
Yanying PengFujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Philosophy and Social Sciences in Bioanthropology, Institute of Anthropology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China.
Xiaolu MaoFujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Philosophy and Social Sciences in Bioanthropology, Institute of Anthropology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China.
Yilan LiuSchool of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China.
Baitong WangMinistry of Education Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, Center for Evolutionary Biology, Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China.
Zhi JiFujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Philosophy and Social Sciences in Bioanthropology, Institute of Anthropology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China.
Kongyang ZhuSchool of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China.
Yu XuSchool of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China.
Le TaoMinistry of Education Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, Center for Evolutionary Biology, Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China.
Haifeng HeSchool of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China.
Hongming ZhouFujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Philosophy and Social Sciences in Bioanthropology, Institute of Anthropology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China.
Xinyue ZouFujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Philosophy and Social Sciences in Bioanthropology, Institute of Anthropology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China.
Xinyi WangFujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Philosophy and Social Sciences in Bioanthropology, Institute of Anthropology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China.
Jiaxin TangFujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Philosophy and Social Sciences in Bioanthropology, Institute of Anthropology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China.
Daohua HaoShandong Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Jinan, 250012, China. 51983964@qq.com.
Xiaokun WangSchool of History, Renmin University of China, Beijing, 100872, China. wangxiaokun@ruc.edu.cn.
Chuan-Chao WangSchool of Ethnology and History, Ningxia University, Yinchuan, 750021, China. chuanchaowang@fudan.edu.cn.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe 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.

resultsThis 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 lower Yellow River basin during the Han Dynasty. Moreover, we found a high degree of genetic homogeneity between ancient Han Dynasty populations and modern Han Chinese from Shandong. Admixture modeling and f-statistics further demonstrate that Longshan-related ancestries-particularly those associated with the Central Plain-played a dominant role in shaping the genetic structure of historical populations across a wide geographic range, including the Upper Yellow River, the West Liao River Basin, and Southwest China, etc.

conclusionsThese findings underscore the profound and pervasive genetic influence of the Central Plain Longshan populations on surrounding regions, driving the demographic expansion and genetic homogenization of the Han Chinese. This interplay of population movements and cultural diffusion highlights the central role of Longshan-era demic expansion in shaping the genetic landscape and cohesion of the Han people.

Indexed as

DNA, AncientEast Asian PeopleGenome, HumanArchaeologyChinaGenetic VariationHistory, AncientHumansDNA, AncientAncient genomeDemic diffusionHan ChineseXujiacundong siteZhouhe site

Identifiers

PMID41652444
PMCPMC12977919

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.