The Aporia
The Aporia
Huang, S. (2026, September 18). Scientists trace half the DNA in Xinjiang’s oldest tombs to Yellow River farmers. South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3367886/scientists-trace-half-dna-xinjiangs-oldest-tombs-yellow-river-farmers?utm_source=rss_feed
Huang, Shi. “Scientists trace half the DNA in Xinjiang’s oldest tombs to Yellow River farmers.” South China Morning Post, 18 Sept. 2026, https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3367886/scientists-trace-half-dna-xinjiangs-oldest-tombs-yellow-river-farmers?utm_source=rss_feed.
Huang, Shi. “Scientists trace half the DNA in Xinjiang’s oldest tombs to Yellow River farmers.” South China Morning Post, September 18, 2026. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3367886/scientists-trace-half-dna-xinjiangs-oldest-tombs-yellow-river-farmers?utm_source=rss_feed.
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Scientists have discovered that half of the DNA from the oldest tombs in Xinjiang's Tianshanbeilu cemetery, located about 500km east of Urumqi, traces back to Yellow River farmers rather than Eurasian nomads as previously thought. The study, published in the journal Science, analyzed more than 700 Bronze Age tombs, revealing a genetically mixed population with roots in both Yellow River agriculturalists and Eurasian steppe groups that existed during China’s Shang dynasty (1600-1050BC). This finding challenges earlier assumptions about the origins of Xinjiang's earliest inhabitants, suggesting a more complex migratory history than previously understood.
