A Matrilineal Genetic Perspective of Hanging Coffin Custom in Southern China and Northern Thailand
Xiaoming Zhang,
Chunmei Li,
Yanan Zhou,
Jiahui Huang,
Tengsong Yu,
Xu Liu,
Hong Shi,
Hong Liu,
Stephen Chia,
Shenmin Huang,
Yaozheng Guo,
Rasmi Shoocongdej,
Xueping Ji,
Bing Su
Affiliations
Xiaoming Zhang
State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China; Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China
Chunmei Li
State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China; Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China
Yanan Zhou
State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China; Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
Jiahui Huang
State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China; Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
Tengsong Yu
Zhaotong Institute of Cultural Relics Protection and Archaeology, Zhaoyang, Yunnan 657200, China
Xu Liu
Yunnan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Kunming 650118, China
Hong Shi
Yunnan Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research, Institute of Primate Translational Medicine, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, China; Yunnan Provincial Academy of Science and Technology, Kunming 650228, China
Hong Liu
International Joint Research Center for Karstology, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650223, China
Stephen Chia
Center for Global Archaeological Research, University of Science Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia
Shenmin Huang
Key Laboratory of Environmental Change and Resources Use in Baibu Gulf, Ministry of Education, Nanning Normal University, Nanning, Guangxi 530001, China
Yaozheng Guo
Youjiang Nationalities Museum, Baise, Guangxi 533000, China
Rasmi Shoocongdej
Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Archaeology, Silpakorn University, Bangkok 10200, Thailand; Corresponding author
Xueping Ji
Yunnan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Kunming 650118, China; School of Geoscience, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China; Corresponding author
Bing Su
State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China; Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China; Corresponding author
Summary: Hanging Coffin is a unique and ancient burial custom that has been practiced in southern China, Southeast Asia, and near Oceania regions for more than 3,000 years. Here, we conducted mitochondrial whole-genome analyses of 41 human remains sampled from 13 Hanging Coffin sites in southern China and northern Thailand, which were dated between ∼2,500 and 660 years before present. We found that there were genetic connections between the Hanging Coffin people living in different geographic regions. Notably, the matrilineal genetic diversity of the Hanging Coffin people from southern China is much higher than those from northern Thailand, consistent with the hypothesized single origin of the Hanging Coffin custom in southern China about 3,600 years ago, followed by its dispersal in southern China through demic diffusion, whereas the major dispersal pattern in Southeast Asia is cultural assimilation in the past 2,000 years. : Biological Sciences; Phylogenetics; Sequence Analysis; Paleogenetics Subject Areas: Biological Sciences, Phylogenetics, Sequence Analysis, Paleogenetics
