Origin and dispersal history of Hepatitis B virus in Eastern Eurasia.

Hepatitis B virus is a globally distributed pathogen and the history of HBV infection in humans predates 10000 years. However, long-term evolutionary history of HBV in Eastern Eurasia remains elusive. We present 34 ancient HBV genomes dating between approximately 5000 to 400 years ago sourced from 17 sites across Eastern Eurasia.

Climate change drove the route shift of the ancient Silk Road in two distinct ways.

Although climate change has convincingly been linked to the evolution of human civilization on different temporal scales, its role in influencing the spatial patterns of ancient civilizations has rarely been investigated. The northward shift of the ancient Silk Road (SR) route from the Tarim Basin (TB) to the Junggar Basin during ∼420-850 CE provides the opportunity to investigate the relationship between climate change and the spatial evolution of human societies. Here, we use a new high-resolution chironomid-based temperature reconstruction from arid China, combined with hydroclimatic and historical datasets, to assess the possible effects of climate fluctuations on the shift of the ancient SR route.

Earliest systematic coal exploitation for fuel extended to ~3600 B.P.

Coal has long fueled human civilizations. The history of systematic coal fuel exploitation has been traced back to the late third millennium before present (post-2500 B.P.

Delayed closure of the anterior fontanelle in Iron Age children from Zaghunluq, northwestern China.

Delayed closure of the anterior fontanelle is often associated with various disorders. However, the phenomenon might be a normal variation. In this study, the anterior fontanelle was investigated in children from the Iron Age Zaghunluq cemetery in Xinjiang, northwestern China.

The genomic origins of the Bronze Age Tarim Basin mummies.

The identity of the earliest inhabitants of Xinjiang, in the heart of Inner Asia, and the languages that they spoke have long been debated and remain contentious. Here we present genomic data from 5 individuals dating to around 3000-2800 BC from the Dzungarian Basin and 13 individuals dating to around 2100-1700 BC from the Tarim Basin, representing the earliest yet discovered human remains from North and South Xinjiang, respectively. We find that the Early Bronze Age Dzungarian individuals exhibit a predominantly Afanasievo ancestry with an additional local contribution, and the Early-Middle Bronze Age Tarim individuals contain only a local ancestry.

Natron glass beads reveal proto-Silk Road between the Mediterranean and China in the 1st millennium BCE.

Natron-based glass was a vital part of material culture in the Mediterranean and Europe for nearly two millennia, but natron glass found elsewhere on the Eurasian Continent has not received adequate discussion, despite its influence on ancient Asian glass. Here we present a new interpretation of natron glass finds from both the West and the East. After establishing the compositional types and technological sequence of Mediterranean natron glass (eighth-second century BCE) using trace elements, we report the analysis of a mid-1st millennium BCE glass bead from Xinjiang, China, which was likely made with Levantine raw glass, and identify common types of stratified eye beads in Eurasia based on a compositional and typological comparison.