Sex-Biased Population Admixture Mediated Subsistence Strategy Transition of Heishuiguo People in Han Dynasty Hexi Corridor.

Jianxue Xiong,Yao Yu,Boyan Zhou,Xin Chang,Yiran Xu,Shaoqing Wen,Chang Sun,Guoke Chen,Hui Li,Jingze Tan,Edward Allen,Hui Wang,Yetao Zou,Yishi Yang,Panxin Du,Hailiang Meng,Juanjuan Zhou,Yichen Tao

doi:10.3389/fgene.2022.827277

Jianxue Xiong, Yao Yu + Show 16 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2022.827277

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Abstract

The Hexi Corridor was an important arena for culture exchange and human migration between ancient China and Central and Western Asia. During the Han Dynasty (202 BCE–220 CE), subsistence strategy along the corridor shifted from pastoralism to a mixed pastoralist-agriculturalist economy. Yet the drivers of this transition remain poorly understood. In this study, we analyze the Y-chromosome and mtDNA of 31 Han Dynasty individuals from the Heishuiguo site, located in the center of the Hexi Corridor. A high-resolution analysis of 485 Y-SNPs and mitogenomes was performed, with the Heishuiguo population classified into Early Han and Late Han groups. It is revealed that (1) when dissecting genetic lineages, the Yellow River Basin origin haplogroups (i.e., Oα-M117, Oβ-F46, Oγ-IMS-JST002611, and O2-P164+, M134-) reached relatively high frequencies for the paternal gene pools, while haplogroups of north East Asian origin (e.g., D4 and D5) dominated on the maternal side; (2) in interpopulation comparison using PCA and Fst heatmap, the Heishuiguo population shifted from Southern-Northern Han cline to Northern-Northwestern Han/Hui cline with time, indicating genetic admixture between Yellow River immigrants and natives. By comparison, in maternal mtDNA views, the Heishuiguo population was closely clustered with certain Mongolic-speaking and Northwestern Han populations and exhibited genetic continuity through the Han Dynasty, which suggests that Heishuiguo females originated from local or neighboring regions. Therefore, a sex-biased admixture pattern is observed in the Heishuiguo population. Additionally, genetic contour maps also reveal the same male-dominated migration from the East to Hexi Corridor during the Han Dynasty. This is also consistent with historical records, especially excavated bamboo slips. Combining historical records, archeological findings, stable isotope analysis, and paleoenvironmental studies, our uniparental genetic investigation on the Heishuiguo population reveals how male-dominated migration accompanied with lifestyle adjustments brought by these eastern groups may be the main factor affecting the subsistence strategy transition along the Han Dynasty Hexi Corridor.

Highlights

The Heishuiguo population was comprised of the haplogroups OγIMS-JST002611(26.7%), Oα-M117 (13.3%), C2-M217(13.3%), N-F1206 (13.3%), O1b1a2-Page59 (10%), O1a-M119+, P203(6.7%), O2-P164+, M134- (6.7%), Oβ-F46 (3.3%), O1b1a1aM95 (3.3%), and Q-M120 (3.3%)
Multiple lines of evidence have demonstrated how subsistence strategies along the Hexi Corridor shifted from a nomadic economy to mixed economy from the Han Dynasty (Sun and Liu, 2014; Li 2021)
Prior research has focused on exploring the relationship between climate change and subsistence strategy transition in this region during the Han, suggesting a cold and arid climate had dried up considerable stretches of river and impoverished fertile lands prior to the Han Dynasty, with resulting prevalent nomadism

Summary

Introduction

Human history can be seen as a history of dealing with new challenges caused by changes of factors including resource distribution and social relationships. Human beings have been using extrasomatic ways, including subsistence-, socio-, and ideo-technologies to create new niches for survival (Binford, 1962; Zhang 2021). Among the studies of adaptive changes, the evaluation of the factors leading to significant changes in subsistence strategy in human prehistory and history is a fascinating topic. Humans are required to adopt different strategies, as well as adjust subsistence strategies, even migrate in search of better conditions, in order to cope with and adapt to such environmental changes (Polyak and Asmerom, 2001; Nunez et al, 2002; Haug et al, 2003; An et al, 2005; Preston et al, 2012; King et al, 2013; d’Alpoim Guedes et al, 2015; Jia et al, 2016; Pokharia et al, 2017)

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