Molecular Archaeological Research On Ancient Cattle From Changning Site

Changning Site, a large-scale settlement of Qijia Culture (4,200-3,800BP), islocated in the Huangshui Basin of eastern Qinghai Province. Qijia Culture was in themiddle of transition from Neolithic Age to Bronze Age. During this period, culturalfeatures, social forms and livelihood patterns of ancient people were changedsignificantly. The site was in the ecotone between agriculture and animal husbandry innorth China, and also along the Hexi Corridor, where West East exchange frequently.The site also is an important route for western domestic animals into the Central Plain.Obviously, the genetic structure analysis of ancient cattle from Changning Site is akey help us to understand the origin and spread of Chinese domestic cattle, and EastWest Exchange.In this study, we analyzed the mtDNA of21ancient cattle samples excavatedfrom Changning Site, and compared with other ancient and modern cattle data.Combining archaeological culture records, we discussed the origin and spread ofChinese cattle in detail. In summary:First,17mtDNA partial sequences were successfully retrieved from21ancienttooth samples. According to DNA variations, we defined17ancient DNA sequencesinto3haplotypes which could all be assigned to haplogroup T3. T3is dominant bothin modern European and Near East cattle breeds, and thought likely to have originatedin the Near East during the Neolithic period. The results of similar sequences search(BLAST), phylogenetic analysis and genetic distance calculation between populationsshowed that Changning cattle may share common maternal ancestor with moderncattle breeds in European, Near East and North Eastern Asia, and had made a greatcontribution to the gene pool of modern Chinese cattle.Second, we compared17ancient DNA sequences with other ancient and modern cattle data downloaded from GenBank. The results indicated that the haplotypes ofChangning cattle showed significant difference to the early western domestic cattle,but a closely affinity to the Central Plain. The dominant haplotype H5in Changningcattle may begin to form when they arrived in north China, and then developed andfurther spread to other regions.Third, archaeological research showed that East West Exchange may have startedin the late Neolithic Age. Bronze technology, domestic animals and plants couldprobably have been introduced to China by cultural communication or ancient tradesas early as4,000BP, and had a certain influence on ancient Chinese culture.Combining archaeological records, we suggests that Chinese domesticated cattle wereintroduced from the Near East, via Xinjiang, Hexi Corridor and Gan-Qing area intothe Central Plain.