ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.

Sec. Ancient DNA and Forensic Microbiology

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1602625

This article is part of the Research TopicAncient DNA and the History of Human PopulationsView all 3 articles

Ancient Genomes Reveal the Genetic Structure and Population Interaction in the Central Plains of China during the Eastern Zhou Period

Provisionally accepted
Xiyan  WuXiyan Wu1*Pengxiang  LiuPengxiang Liu1Fei  YanFei Yan2RongPeng  JinRongPeng Jin1Canshuo  ZhongCanshuo Zhong1Lin  WangLin Wang1Ke  ChenKe Chen1Fan  YangFan Yang1Linyi  NieLinyi Nie1Jinteng  LiangJinteng Liang1Yawei  ZhouYawei Zhou3*Baoxu  DingBaoxu Ding4*
  • 1School of History and Culture, Henan University, Kaifen, China
  • 2Sanmenxia Yangshao Cultural Research Center, Sanmenxia, China
  • 3School of Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China
  • 4School of Life Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China

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

The Eastern Zhou period (770–256 BCE) was a transformative era in ancient China, marked by intensified social stratification, frequent warfare, and increased population movements. The Western Guo State, as an important vassal state during the Western Zhou period, migrated eastward with King Ping of Zhou and was eventually conquered by the Jin State. Due to limited genomic data, the genetic history of the Guo State population remains unclear. The Shangshihe cemetery, located in Yima City, Henan Province, is hypothesized to be associated with the Guo State and provides an opportunity to understand the genetic dynamics of this period. In our study, we successfully obtained 13 ancient genomes from the Shangshihe cemetery. Our findings suggest notable maternal and paternal genetic diversity within the Shangshihe population, although this observation is limited by the small sample size. Population genomic analysis shows that the Shangshihe individuals are predominantly of Yellow River Basin-related ancestry, with minor contributions from Southern East Asian-related and Eurasian Steppe-related sources. This genetic profile reflects extensive interactions between the Central Plains and surrounding populations during the Eastern Zhou period. Additionally, while distinct Y-chromosome haplogroups were observed among individuals with different burial orientations, autosomal analysis did not detect significant genetic differentiation, indicating overall genetic homogeneity within the population. These results not only elucidate the genetic characteristics of the Guo State population but also provide a new genetic perspective on the population dynamics and cultural exchanges in the Central Plains during the Eastern Zhou period.

Keywords: ANCIENT DNA, Zhou Dynasty, central plains, Guo State, Shangshihe Cemetery

Received: 30 Mar 2025; Accepted: 28 Apr 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Wu, Liu, Yan, Jin, Zhong, Wang, Chen, Yang, Nie, Liang, Zhou and Ding. 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
Yawei Zhou, School of Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China
Baoxu Ding, School of Life Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China

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