According to CCTV News Client, at the unveiling ceremony of the "East China Workstation, a key scientific research base of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage for the Protection of Archaeological Excavation Sites" held in Wuxi, Jiangsu, recently,The Wuxi Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology and Fudan University jointly released a latest scientific and technological archaeological result - a human bone detection report from the Majiabang Culture period at the Ma'an site in Wuxi.
Deputy Director of the National Development and Intelligent Governance Comprehensive Laboratory of the Ministry of Education and Associate Professor Wen Shaoqing of the Institute of Science and Technology Archeology of Fudan University introduced,This is the first time that ancient human genome data from the Majiabang Culture period 6,000 years ago has been successfully obtained, filling a gap in ancient DNA research in southern China caused by environmental impact and poor preservation, and providing an important reference for understanding the origin and migration of prehistoric archaeological cultural groups in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.
It is understood that the Majiabang Culture is the earliest Neolithic Age culture discovered in Wuxi and can be said to be the source of regional civilization in Wuxi.
During the Natural and Cultural Heritage Day event in June 2023, Wuxi broadcast live the archaeological excavation of two tombs of the Majiabang Culture at the Ma'an site in Wuxi. Two ancient human skeletons were discovered. The School of Science and Technology Archeology of Fudan University extracted two skeleton samples, and ancient DNA was successfully extracted from one of the skeletons.
It is understood that ancient DNA refers to any DNA obtained from ancient samples, derived from bones, teeth, sediments, etc. Through ancient DNA research and based on whole-genome data analysis, human origins and evolutionary history can be reconstructed and the main migration routes can be delineated.
Through a genetic comparison between the ancient Ma'an people in Wuxi and ancient populations, researchers found that there was a maternal genetic connection between the ancient Ma'an people and ancient populations in southern China and Southeast Asia.
At the same time, comparison with the genealogy of modern people of various language families also revealed that the ancient Ma'an people have close genetic connections with the modern Dong-Taiwan language people and the Han people in southern China.