Tianyuan man

Nothing is known directly about the material culture of this individual, since so far no artifacts or other cultural remains have been found at the site. Isotope analysis suggests that a substantial part of his diet came from freshwater fish.{{Cite journal| last6 = Zhao | first1 = Y.| last7 = Yu| last8 = Wang | first2 = H.| last3 = Tong| last4 = Nehlich| last5 = Liu | first3 = H. | first4 = O.| last2 = Shang| last9 = Trinkaus | first5 = W.| first6 = C. | first7 = J. | first8 = C. | first9 = E.| title = Stable isotope dietary analysis of the Tianyuan 1 early modern human | journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | volume = 106| issue = 27 | pages = 10971–10974 | date = 2009| last10 = Richards| issn = 0027-8424| pmid = 19581579| pmc = 2706269| last1 = Hu | doi = 10.1073/pnas.0904826106 | first10 = M.|bibcode = 2009PNAS..10610971H | doi-access = free}}

Tianyuan man is considered an early modern homo sapiens. He lacks several mandibular features common among western Eurasian late archaic humans, showing its divergence. Based on the rate of dental occlusal attrition, it is estimated he died in his 40s or 50s.{{cite journal |last1=Shang |first1=Hong |title=An early modern human from Tianyuan Cave, Zhoukoukian, China |journal= Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=104 |issue=16 |pages=6573–8 |date=2007 |pmid=17416672 |pmc=1871827 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0702169104 |bibcode=2007PNAS..104.6573S |doi-access=free }} The observed derived modern human features and the high crural index of Tianyuan 1, suggest "some relatively recent ancestry among more equatorial populations".{{Cite journal |last1=Shang |first1=Hong |last2=Tong |first2=Haowen |last3=Zhang |first3=Shuangquan |last4=Chen |first4=Fuyou |last5=Trinkaus |first5=Erik |date=17 April 2007 |title=An early modern human from Tianyuan Cave, Zhoukoudian, China |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=104 |issue=16 |pages=6573–6578 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0702169104 |doi-access=free |pmid=17416672 |pmc=1871827 |bibcode=2007PNAS..104.6573S |quote=The high crural indices and tibial robusticity of Tianyuan 1 may well indicate some combination of equatorial ancestry and an emphasis on mobility (37, 38).}}

File:Phylogenetic structure of Eastern Eurasians.png.]]

The first DNA analysis of the Tianyuan remains (focussing on mtDNA and chromosome 21) was published in 2013 and revealed that Tianyuan man is related "to many present-day Asians and Native Americans" and had already diverged genetically from the ancestors of modern Europeans.{{cite journal| last=Fu| first=Q.|author2=Meyer, M.|author3=Gao, X.|author4=Stenzel, U.|author5=Burbano, H.A.|author6=Kelso, J.|author7= Pääbo, S. |author7-link=Svante Pääbo | title=DNA analysis of an early modern human from Tianyuan Cave, China| journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences| date=2013| volume=110| issue=6| pages=2223–2227| doi=10.1073/pnas.1221359110| pmid=23341637| pmc=3568306|bibcode=2013PNAS..110.2223F| doi-access=free}} He belonged to mitochondrial DNA haplogroup B, and paternal haplogroup K2b.{{Cite web |title=Allen Ancient DNA Resource (AADR): Downloadable genotypes of present-day and ancient DNA data |publisher=David Reich Lab|url=https://reich.hms.harvard.edu/allen-ancient-dna-resource-aadr-downloadable-genotypes-present-day-and-ancient-dna-data |access-date=21 January 2024 |website=reich.hms.harvard.edu}}

A genome-wide analysis confirmed the close affinity of Tianyuan man to modern East Asian and Southeast Asians; it also showed that he is not directly ancestral to modern populations, but rather represents a deeply diverged member of the East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) lineage, basal to all later populations of East and Southeast Asia.{{cite journal |last1=Yang |first1=Melinda A. |last2=Gao |first2=Xing |last3=Theunert |first3=Christoph |last4=Tong |first4=Haowen |last5=Aximu-Petri |first5=Ayinuer |last6=Nickel |first6=Birgit |last7=Slatkin |first7=Montgomery |last8=Meyer |first8=Matthias |last9=Pääbo |first9=Svante |author9-link=Svante Pääbo |last10=Kelso |first10=Janet |last11=Fu |first11=Qiaomei |year=2017 |title=40,000-Year-Old Individual from Asia Provides Insight into Early Population Structure in Eurasia |journal=Current Biology |volume=27 |issue=20 |pages=3202–3208.e9 |bibcode=2017CBio...27E3202Y |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2017.09.030 |issn=0960-9822 |pmc=6592271 |pmid=29033327}}{{Cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=Ming |last2=Fu |first2=Qiaomei |date=2020 |title=Human evolutionary history in Eastern Eurasia using insights from ancient DNA |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959437X2030109X |journal=Current Opinion in Genetics & Development |series=Genetics of Human Origin |language=en |volume=62 |pages=78–84 |doi=10.1016/j.gde.2020.06.009 |pmid=32688244 |s2cid=220671047 |issn=0959-437X}}{{Cite journal |last=Yang |first=Melinda A. |date=2022 |title=A genetic history of migration, diversification, and admixture in Asia |url=http://www.pivotscipub.com/hpgg/2/1/0001/html |journal=Human Population Genetics and Genomics |language=en |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=1–32 |doi=10.47248/hpgg2202010001 |issn=2770-5005|doi-access=free |quote=...the ESEA lineage differentiated into at least three distinct ancestries: Tianyuan ancestry which can be found 40,000-33,000 years ago in northern East Asia, ancestry found today across present-day populations of East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Siberia, but whose origins are unknown, and Hòabìnhian ancestry found 8,000-4,000 years ago in Southeast Asia, but whose origins in the Upper Paleolithic are unknown.}} The Tianyuan man was determined to be part of an Initial Upper Paleolithic wave (>45kya) "ascribed to a population movement with uniform genetic features and material culture" (Ancient East Eurasians), and sharing deep ancestry with other ancient specimens such as Bacho Kiro, Peștera cu Oase, the Ust'-Ishim man, as well as the ancestors of modern day Papuans (Australasians).{{Cite journal |title=Genetics and Material Culture Support Repeated Expansions into Paleolithic Eurasia from a Population Hub Out of Africa |url=https://academic.oup.com/gbe/article/14/4/evac045/6563828 |access-date=10 November 2023 |journal=Genome Biology and Evolution|date=2022 |doi=10.1093/gbe/evac045 |last1=Vallini |first1=Leonardo |last2=Marciani |first2=Giulia |last3=Aneli |first3=Serena |last4=Bortolini |first4=Eugenio |last5=Benazzi |first5=Stefano |last6=Pievani |first6=Telmo |last7=Pagani |first7=Luca |volume=14 |issue=4 |hdl=2318/1855565 |hdl-access=free }} The lineage ancestral to the Tianyuan man (dubbed as the "ESEA" lineage) is inferred to have diverged from the Ancient East Eurasians, following a Southern Route dispersal, and subsequently diverged into the Hoabinhian lineage, the Tianyuan lineage, and a lineage ancestral to all modern East and Southeast Asians.

The Tianyuan lineage can be modeled to have emerged by a Paleolithic admixture event between a primarily Onge-like source from Southeast Asia (c. 61%) and from a deeply diverged East Eurasian source associated with the IUP movements into Siberia (c. 39%), which were distantly related to the Bacho Kiro cave remains.{{Cite journal |last1=Hajdinjak |first1=Mateja |last2=Mafessoni |first2=Fabrizio |last3=Skov |first3=Laurits |last4=Vernot |first4=Benjamin |last5=Hübner |first5=Alexander |last6=Fu |first6=Qiaomei |last7=Essel |first7=Elena |last8=Nagel |first8=Sarah |last9=Nickel |first9=Birgit |last10=Richter |first10=Julia |last11=Moldovan |first11=Oana Teodora |last12=Constantin |first12=Silviu |last13=Endarova |first13=Elena |last14=Zahariev |first14=Nikolay |last15=Spasov |first15=Rosen |date=7 April 2021 |title=Initial Upper Palaeolithic humans in Europe had recent Neanderthal ancestry |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=592 |issue=7853 |pages=253–257 |doi=10.1038/s41586-021-03335-3 |issn=1476-4687 |pmc=8026394 |pmid=33828320|bibcode=2021Natur.592..253H }}{{Cite journal |last1=Bennett |first1=E. Andrew |last2=Liu |first2=Yichen |last3=Fu |first3=Qiaomei |date=3 December 2024 |title=Reconstructing the Human Population History of East Asia through Ancient Genomics |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/reconstructing-the-human-population-history-of-east-asia-through-ancient-genomics/0524D629660B5E43FC7094C043D54C6A |journal=Elements in Ancient East Asia |language=en |doi=10.1017/9781009246675|isbn=978-1-009-24667-5 |doi-access=free }}{{Cite journal |last1=McColl |first1=Hugh |last2=Racimo |first2=Fernando |last3=Vinner |first3=Lasse |last4=Demeter |first4=Fabrice |last5=Gakuhari |first5=Takashi |last6=Moreno-Mayar |first6=J. Víctor |last7=van Driem |first7=George |last8=Gram Wilken |first8=Uffe |last9=Seguin-Orlando |first9=Andaine |last10=de la Fuente Castro |first10=Constanza |last11=Wasef |first11=Sally |last12=Shoocongdej |first12=Rasmi |last13=Souksavatdy |first13=Viengkeo |last14=Sayavongkhamdy |first14=Thongsa |last15=Saidin |first15=Mohd Mokhtar |date=6 July 2018 |title=The prehistoric peopling of Southeast Asia |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aat3628 |journal=Science |volume=361 |issue=6397 |pages=88–92 |doi=10.1126/science.aat3628|pmid=29976827 |bibcode=2018Sci...361...88M }} An earlier model estimated around 64% ancestry related to Eastern Asians and 36% ancestry represented by the deeply diverged Ust'-Ishim man.{{Citation |last1=Lazaridis |first1=Iosif |title=Paleolithic DNA from the Caucasus reveals core of West Eurasian ancestry |date=21 September 2018 |url=https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/423079v1 |access-date=12 May 2025 |publisher=bioRxiv |language=en |doi=10.1101/423079 |last2=Belfer-Cohen |first2=Anna |last3=Mallick |first3=Swapan |last4=Patterson |first4=Nick |last5=Cheronet |first5=Olivia |last6=Rohland |first6=Nadin |last7=Bar-Oz |first7=Guy |last8=Bar-Yosef |first8=Ofer |last9=Jakeli |first9=Nino}} Supplementary Data: Table S3.2

Tianyuan man also exhibits a unique genetic affinity for GoyetQ116-1 from the Goyet Caves in Namur province, Belgium. GoyetQ116-1 shares more alleles with Tianyuan man than does any other sampled ancient individual from West Eurasia. The GoyetQ116-1 specimen is inferred to have received 17-23% ancestry from an IUP-affilated population distantly related to that one which also contributed to the Tianyuan man.{{Cite journal |last1=Massilani |first1=Diyendo |last2=Skov |first2=Laurits |last3=Hajdinjak |first3=Mateja |last4=Gunchinsuren |first4=Byambaa |last5=Tseveendorj |first5=Damdinsuren |last6=Yi |first6=Seonbok |last7=Lee |first7=Jungeun |last8=Nagel |first8=Sarah |last9=Nickel |first9=Birgit |last10=Devièse |first10=Thibaut |last11=Higham |first11=Tom |last12=Meyer |first12=Matthias |last13=Kelso |first13=Janet |last14=Peter |first14=Benjamin M. |last15=Pääbo |first15=Svante |date=30 October 2020 |title=Denisovan ancestry and population history of early East Asians |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abc1166 |journal=Science |language=en |volume=370 |issue=6516 |pages=579–583 |doi=10.1126/science.abc1166 |issn=0036-8075 |pmid=33122380}}{{multiple image

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| image1 = Schematic of Populations in Eurasia from 45 to 10 kaBP (migration routes).png

| caption1 = Ancestry related to the Tianyuan man is defined as Basal East Asian (BEA); ancestry related to Ancient East Asians (AEA); ancestry related to Ancient Northern East Asian (ANEA); ancestry related to Ancient Southern East Asian (ASEA); ancestry related to Ancient Guangxi population (Longlin/AGX).

| image2 = Schematic_summary_of_population_settlement_in_Insular_Southeast_Asia.jpg

| caption2 = The initial peopling of Sundaland and the Sahul was carried out by ancestors of modern Papuan New Guineans and Australian Aboriginal populations, followed by deep mainland Asian (Tianyuan- or Onge-related) ancestry, preceding later expansions from Mainland Southeast Asia and Southern China.

}}

The Tianyuan man displays high genetic affinities to a 33,000 year old specimen (AR33K) between the Amur region and modern day Mongolia, suggesting that Tianyuan-like ancestry was spread widely in Northeastern Asia during the Paleolithic period. This specific group is also known as "Tianyuan cluster".{{Cite journal |last1=Mao |first1=Xiaowei |last2=Zhang |first2=Hucai |last3=Qiao |first3=Shiyu |last4=Liu |first4=Yichen |last5=Chang |first5=Fengqin |last6=Xie |first6=Ping |last7=Zhang |first7=Ming |last8=Wang |first8=Tianyi |last9=Li |first9=Mian |last10=Cao |first10=Peng |last11=Yang |first11=Ruowei |last12=Liu |first12=Feng |last13=Dai |first13=Qingyan |last14=Feng |first14=Xiaotian |last15=Ping |first15=Wanjing |date=June 2021 |title=The deep population history of northern East Asia from the Late Pleistocene to the Holocene |journal=Cell |volume=184 |issue=12 |pages=3256–3266.e13 |doi=10.1016/j.cell.2021.04.040 |issn=0092-8674 |pmid=34048699 |doi-access=free}}{{Cite web |last=Estes |first=Roberta |date=12 September 2020 |title=Y DNA Haplogroup P Gets a Brand-New Root – Plus Some Branches |url=https://dna-explained.com/2020/09/12/y-dna-haplogroup-p-gets-a-brand-new-root-plus-some-branches/ |access-date=21 January 2024 |website=DNAeXplained - Genetic Genealogy |language=en-US}}

Ancient and modern East Asians can be modeled to derive most of their ancestry from an Onge-like source (76–79%) with geneflow from a Tianyuan-like source (21–24%). Since around 26 to 22kya, the Tianyuan cluster became replaced by East Asian-like ancestry.{{Cite journal |last1=Mao |first1=Xiaowei |last2=Zhang |first2=Hucai |last3=Qiao |first3=Shiyu |last4=Liu |first4=Yichen |last5=Chang |first5=Fengqin |last6=Xie |first6=Ping |last7=Zhang |first7=Ming |last8=Wang |first8=Tianyi |last9=Li |first9=Mian |last10=Cao |first10=Peng |last11=Yang |first11=Ruowei |last12=Liu |first12=Feng |last13=Dai |first13=Qingyan |last14=Feng |first14=Xiaotian |last15=Ping |first15=Wanjing |date=10 June 2021 |title=The deep population history of northern East Asia from the Late Pleistocene to the Holocene |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0092867421005754 |journal=Cell |language=English |volume=184 |issue=12 |pages=3256–3266.e13 |doi=10.1016/j.cell.2021.04.040 |issn=0092-8674 |pmid=34048699}}

A Tianyuan-like population contributed around 29-50% ancestry to the Ancient North Eurasians, with the remainder being made up by Early West Eurasian ancestry represented by the Kostenki-14 specimen. A c. 34,000 year old specimen from Northern Mongolia (Salkhit) derives approximately 75% ancestry from a Tianyuan-like population, with the remainder (25%) being derived from a Yana-like population. The Salkhit individual displayed a complex bi-directional relationship to the Ancient North Eurasians.{{Cite journal |last1=Sikora |first1=Martin |last2=Pitulko |first2=Vladimir V. |last3=Sousa |first3=Vitor C. |last4=Allentoft |first4=Morten E. |last5=Vinner |first5=Lasse |last6=Rasmussen |first6=Simon |last7=Margaryan |first7=Ashot |last8=de Barros Damgaard |first8=Peter |last9=de la Fuente |first9=Constanza |last10=Renaud |first10=Gabriel |last11=Yang |first11=Melinda A. |last12=Fu |first12=Qiaomei |last13=Dupanloup |first13=Isabelle |last14=Giampoudakis |first14=Konstantinos |last15=Nogués-Bravo |first15=David |date=5 June 2019 |title=The population history of northeastern Siberia since the Pleistocene |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=570 |issue=7760 |pages=182–188 |doi=10.1038/s41586-019-1279-z |issn=1476-4687 |pmc=7617447 |pmid=31168093|bibcode=2019Natur.570..182S }}

Basal East Asian or "Deep Asian" ancestry represented by Tianyuan or Andamanese Onge contributed to the Peopling of Southeast Asia, following deeply diverged Australasian ancestry and preceding Mesolithic and Neolithic expansions of Ancient Southern East Asians associated with the spread of Austroasiatic and Austronesian languages.{{Cite journal |last1=Kusuma |first1=Pradiptajati |last2=Cox |first2=Murray P. |last3=Barker |first3=Graeme |last4=Sudoyo |first4=Herawati |last5=Lansing |first5=J. Stephen |last6=Jacobs |first6=Guy S. |date=1 November 2023 |title=Deep ancestry of Bornean hunter-gatherers supports long-term local ancestry dynamics |journal=Cell Reports |volume=42 |issue=11 |pages=113346 |doi=10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113346 |issn=2211-1247 |doi-access=free|pmid=37917587 }}

The Tianyuan man also shares more alleles with South American populations, such as the Surui and Karitiana in Brazil and Chane in northern Argentina and southern Bolivia, than with other indigenous Americans.{{Cite journal |last1=Yang |first1=Melinda A. |last2=Gao |first2=Xing |last3=Theunert |first3=Christoph |last4=Tong |first4=Haowen |display-authors=3 |date=2017 |title=40,000-Year-Old Individual from Asia Provides Insight into Early Population Structure in Eurasia |journal=Current Biology |volume=27 |issue=20 |pages=3202–3208 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2017.09.030 |bibcode=2017CBio...27E3202Y |pmc=6592271 }}

• Hoabinhian man
• Salkhit man

{{Reflist}}

{{Human_Evolution}}

Category:2007 archaeological discoveries

Category:Upper Paleolithic Homo sapiens fossils

Category:Peopling of East Asia

Category:Archaeological discoveries in China