A dynamic 6,000-year genetic history of Eurasia’s eastern steppe

The Eastern Eurasian Steppe was home to historic empires of nomadic pastoralists, including the Xiongnu and the Mongols. However, little is known about the region’s population history. Here, we reveal its dynamic genetic history by analyzing new genome-wide data for 214 ancient individuals spanning 6,000 years. We identify a pastoralist expansion into Mongolia ca. 3000 BCE, and by the Late Bronze Age, Mongolian populations were biogeographically structured into three distinct groups, all practicing dairy pastoralism regardless of ancestry. The Xiongnu emerged from the mixing of these populations and those from surrounding regions. By comparison, the Mongols exhibit much higher eastern Eurasian ancestry, resembling present-day Mongolic-speaking populations. Our results illuminate the complex interplay between genetic, sociopolitical, and cultural changes on the Eastern Steppe.- Introduction - Results -- Pre-Bronze Age Population Structure and the Arrival of Pastoralism -- Bronze Age Emergence of a Tripartite Genetic Structure -- The Xiongnu Empire, the Rise of the First Imperial Steppe Polity -- Fluctuating Genetic Heterogeneity in the Post-Xiongnu Polities -- Rise of the Mongol Empire -- Functional and Gendered Aspects of Recurrent Admixture in the Eastern Steppe - Discussion - STAR★Method