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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Ancient DNA and Forensic Microbiology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1471740
This article is part of the Research Topic Ancient DNA and the History of Human Populations View all articles

Genomic insights into the complex demographic history and inbreeding Phenomena during Zhou Dynasty on the Central Plains of China

Provisionally accepted
Xiyan Wu Xiyan Wu 1*Baoxu Ding Baoxu Ding 2*Linyi Nie Linyi Nie 1*Canshuo Zhong Canshuo Zhong 1*Pengxiang Liu Pengxiang Liu 1*Jingteng Liang Jingteng Liang 1*Lin Wang Lin Wang 1*Xiangping Gao Xiangping Gao 3*Jiyin Wei Jiyin Wei 4*Yawei Zhou Yawei Zhou 3*
  • 1 School of History and Culture, Henan University, Kaifen, China
  • 2 School of Life Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China
  • 3 School of Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
  • 4 School of History and Culture, Hubei University, Wuhan, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    In the Central Plains of China during the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BCE), the social hierarchy gradually solidified, accompanied by frequent wars and the phenomena of multicultural and multi-ethnic integration. These social phenomena collectively influenced the population's genetic structure at that time. However, our understanding of the genetic history of this period remains largely unknown owing to limited ancient DNA studies. In this study, we successfully obtained 11 ancient genomes from the Guanzhuang site during the Zhou Dynasty on the central plain of China. Our findings revealed remarkable genetic continuity with the Neolithic populations of the Yellow River Basin and emphasized genetic diversity through the analysis of uniparental genetic markers. Population structure analysis further confirmed the genetic similarity between the Guanzhuang population and ancient populations of the Yellow River Basin and indicated genetic exchanges with ancient populations from surrounding regions. Intriguingly, signs of inbreeding within the Guanzhuang community cast doubt on the stringent enforcement of the contemporary marital regulations against consanguineous marriages within the same surname or clan. These revelations significantly enhance our insight into the complex interplay of ancient demography and societal organization, concurrently presenting a genetic perspective to view the complex evolution of Chinese civilization's multiethnic.

    Keywords: ANCIENT DNA, genetic diversity, social structure, Inbreeding, Zhou Dynasty, Chinese civilization

    Received: 28 Jul 2024; Accepted: 30 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wu, Ding, Nie, Zhong, Liu, Liang, Wang, Gao, Wei and Zhou. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Xiyan Wu, School of History and Culture, Henan University, Kaifen, China
    Baoxu Ding, School of Life Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China
    Linyi Nie, School of History and Culture, Henan University, Kaifen, China
    Canshuo Zhong, School of History and Culture, Henan University, Kaifen, China
    Pengxiang Liu, School of History and Culture, Henan University, Kaifen, China
    Jingteng Liang, School of History and Culture, Henan University, Kaifen, China
    Lin Wang, School of History and Culture, Henan University, Kaifen, China
    Xiangping Gao, School of Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
    Jiyin Wei, School of History and Culture, Hubei University, Wuhan, China
    Yawei Zhou, School of Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China

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