Ancient DNA Research On The Human Remains From Dabaoshan In Inner Mongolia, China

South-central Inner Mongolia is located between the Central Plain and Eurasia steppe, a region connecting with the sedentary culture to the south and the nomadic culture to the north, which made a contribution to the complexity of the populations and the diversity of the agricultures in this area since prehistory. There is a lot of ancient DNA work to do, especially Y-DNA, though the human remains are abundant in South-central Inner Mongolia. Dabaoshan cemetery(DBS), excavated recently in South-central Inner Mongolia, is identified by the archaeologists as one of the cemeteries belonging to Zhao culture, dating back to the late Warring States period(2300-2200 BP). The ancient DNA research on the human remains from DBS could shed light on the development of the population in South-central Inner Mongolia, maybe even supply information of the interaction between the sedentary culture and the nomadic culture in this region.This study combines the methods of mt DNA and Y-DNA, taking consideration of archaeology and physical anthropology researches, to explore the formation and development of the ancient residents in DBS from both the maternal and paternal sides.The mt DNA haplogroups of DBS population could be assigned to 7 haplogroups: B, D, F, G, N9 a, Z and M*, which is similar to the haplogroup structure of the modern residents in north China. The analyses of Fst value and principal component show that the DBS population had a close genetic relationship with the populations in Central plain compared to other ancient populations, and made a genetic contribution to Han Chinese, especially to the North Han Chinese.Only 5 samples’ Y-SNP haplogroups of the DBS population could be identified, involving O、N and C, suggesting the complex origin of this ancient residents. We could infer that the DBS population may have a vary close paternal genetic relationship with Central plain populations as haplogroup O was the dominant haplogroup among them. However, the ancient aborigines and the immigrants from the north Eurasia steppe in South-central Inner Mongolia also contributed to the diversity of the genetic structure of DBS population simultaneously.In a sum, this study reveals the close genetic relationship between the DBS residents and the ancient populations in Central plain region through the analyses of mt DNA and Y-DNA data. Meanwhile, the Y-SNP haplogroups of the DBS population also demonstrate there was a gene flow from the ancient aborigines and the immigrants from the north Eurasia steppe in South-central Inner Mongolia to the DBS population.