Current Biology and Journal of Contemporary Biology published article "The Late Pleistocene Human Genome from Southwest China" on July 14, 2022. The genetic information of people before Mengzi, i.e. kinship with modern humans. This article has at least three important conclusions: ① It shows connection between population of southern East Asia and population of American continent 11,400 years ago; ② It shows that modern East Asians became white about 7,500 years ago; ③ It shows East Asians turned white 30,000 years ago Body shape with straight hair, no body odor, dry earwax, and small breasts.
1. Object of study
Ancient human Mengzi Ren (MZR) fossils were discovered in "Red Deer Cave" in Mengzi, Yunnan. After cave was discovered in 1989, more than 30 people were found in 2008, according to article. is main material used in this article.
The Pleistocene time in China was approximately 50,000-11,000 years ago. According to radioisotope detection, more than 30 modern human fossils in Red Deer Cave date from 18,070–17,590 to 13,415–13,165 years ago. 14,650–13,970 to 13,750–13,430, about 14,000 years ago.
II. Autosomes and mitochondria from Mengzi human fossils
At this time, a female face is analyzed (full skull, estimated height 155 cm, weight 46 kg).
After testing, this person's maternal mtDNA type is M9.
In terms of differentiation, article believes that M9 can be divided into three main branches: ① one of them is M9a and M9b, which are mainly common among modern Tibetans, and local frequency may exceed 30%, and a few Burmese. areas; ② Another type is type E, this person is common among Austronesians, and highest frequency appears in southern Philippines; ③ is a fossil type of Mengzi, this type has a mutation in T16304C parallel to other two branches, but this branch no longer exists in modern humans.
In terms of autosomes, ancient Homo sapiens existed 14,000 years ago. When fossil was first discovered, it was thought to be very different from modern humans. This time, after DNA analysis, it was found to be still a typical modern Homo sapiens.
Third, relationships with modern humans and other ancient groups
Thanks to admixture software, Mengzi and modern Southern Han, Northern Han, and various ethnic minorities in China have genetic components that are related.
Compared to ancient people, they are closest to ancient population of Fujian Qihedong (11,500 years ago). Although no Y chromosome has been found in Mengzi people, it can be basically assumed that their chromosome is probably of type O1 or O2.
There are some differences between Mengzi people and Bianbian Cave in northern Shandong (9,500 years ago), as well as obvious differences with ancient people of Heilongjiang, who lived 19,000 years ago. C2n (northern branch of C2).
It is very unexpected that ancient people of Mengzi, Yunnan 14,000 years ago and ancient people of USR1 in USA 11,000 years ago share more than 20% similarity in composition. This is first time that ancient South China's population contribution to population of prehistoric America has been discovered.
Analysis, some previous articles, considered that prehistoric population of America was formed as a result of merger of 60% of population of East Asia and 40% of population of North Asia. Now this should be corrected to 60% of population of East. Population of Asia and South East Asia.
Fourth, earliest "white" skin of East Asians
In other articles, I have also reported that there are over 30 genes that control human skin color, some of them are unique to Europe (e.g. HERC2 gene, SLC4A2 gene), some are unique to East Asia (OCA2), and some are common to East Asia and Europe (eg, KITLG), in which OCA2 gene is a very important category for East Asians.
From analysis of article, it was established that OCA2-615Arg gene was absent in Mengzi people 14,000 years ago and in all ancient inhabitants of East Asia before that, including Tianyuan cave people 40,000 years ago, and Siberian people 45,000 years ago.Sitai -Ishim people, Yumin culture of Inner Mongolia 9,000 years ago, they all have dark skin, close to natives of Southeast Asia. The first appearance of OCA2 gene in ancient humans was in ancient Qihedong people 7500 years ago.
In other words, earliest East Asians became whiter, it must have started 7,500 years ago, according to another article "Studying Positive Selection Traits in Pigmentation Candidate Genes in Populations of East Asian Origin", this process is probably very short. , roughly less than 1,000 years before most East Asians became fair-skinned people they are today.
This whitening process began about 7,500 years ago on southeast coast of China and gradually spread north to Yellow River Basin and Heilongjiang River Basin (but did not spread to Americas), article says. not expressed, but my personal guess is that this time seems to be in sync with spread of agriculture or spread of Type O in East Asia. Because light-skinned East Asians are well-adapted to agricultural life and reduced sunlight, or fair-sex mates are preferred. This results in East Asians being more just than other races at same latitude.
5. The time when East Asians became straight hair, dry earwax, no body odor, small breasts
Another analysis concerns EDAR-V370A. This gene causes East Asians to have coarse and straight hair, dry earwax, no body odor, sweat more easily, and smaller female breasts.
According to paper's analysis, diversity-calculated EDAR-V370A mutation should have appeared no earlier than 30,000 years ago, but it should have begun to spread on a large scale or have clear ancient DNA records. , it must be 19,000 years ago Ancient Heilongjiang.
The article shows that spread of EDAR-V370A gene began in northern China, that is, among 19,000 ancient Heilongjiang Chinese and Siberian ancient UKYs 14,000 years ago. The main speakers of Y of these ancients were C2 and Q1, this type also spread among prehistoric people in America and is still present among modern Native American Indians.
Contrary to diffuse direction of East Asian whitening, East Asian genes for straight hair and no body odor have gradually spread from north to South China and elsewhere.
6. Formation of East Asians
It is therefore incorrect to simply think that East Asians developed from north to south or from south to north. The populations of East Asia mixed with each other 60,000 years ago, but this mixing has been repeated.
For example, at first population was in warm region of Southeast Asia, after climate warming they moved north to North Asia, where new genes were produced, and then left North Asia to south, and later moved north with development of agriculture . In such an iterative process, starting point of crowd expansion is different each time. In fact, one cannot simply say that it goes from south to north or from north to south.
Tens of thousands of years of migration and integration have made East Asians what they are today.