Ancient Genomes Illuminate the Origins and Dynamic History of East Asian Cattle
Abstract
The evolutionary history of domesticated cattle in East Asia for the past 5000 years remains largely obscure. Here, we investigated the origins and evolution of cattle genetic diversity in China by analyzing shotgun genome sequences of 166 ancient bovines spanning a 10,000-year period and encompassing now-extinct East Asian aurochs and domesticated cattle from key archaeological cultures. East and North Asian aurochs were distinct from western aurochs, although East Asian aurochs harbored approximately 15% western ancestry. The first domesticated cattle in the Yellow River region derived approximately 10% of their ancestry from local aurochs with an uneven genome-wide distribution. Early cattle from Xinjiang were genetically distinct and partially contributed to the later northern Chinese cattle. Indicine admixture became widespread only in the Medieval period in northern China.
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Since the Last Glacial Maximum, gene flow has occurred between the western aurochs and Central Asian populations.
“Since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), gene flow has occurred between the western aurochs and Central Asian populations [20].”
From The Genomic Landscape of Cattle: Domestication, Dispersal, and Adaptive Evolution (2026) · cites this paper as [20]
Zebu ancestry was widely distributed across northern China in the Medieval period.
“Zebu ancestry was widely distributed across northern China in the Medieval period [20].”
From The Genomic Landscape of Cattle: Domestication, Dispersal, and Adaptive Evolution (2026) · cites this paper as [20]
The Yellow River Basin in China's Central Plains region experienced at least two waves of cattle migration from the north: the first from the late Neolithic to the Bronze Age, involving domestic cattle migrating from Western Eurasia that underwent approximately 10% genetic admixture with local wild cattle; the second from the late Bronze Age to the Iron Age, involving the expansion of Xinjiang-相关?
“The first occurred from the late Neolithic to the Bronze Age, involving domestic cattle migrating from Western Eurasia that underwent approximately 10% genetic admixture with local wild cattle. The second wave took place from the late Bronze Age to the Iron Age, involving the expansion of Xinjiang-related ancestry into northern China [20].”
From The Genomic Landscape of Cattle: Domestication, Dispersal, and Adaptive Evolution (2026) · cites this paper as [20]
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References 56 · Cited by 11
- Authors
- Cai, D., Kim, D., Zhang, N., Wang, X., Li, T., Li, J., Li, C., Lian, S., Shao, X., Hu, S., Yang, M., Zhang, J., Wang, Y., Ruan, Q., Abuduresule, I., Mo, L., Li, W., Guo, X., Li, W., Shao, J., Sun, Z., Tian, Y., Wang, H., Mao, R., Zhu, C., Wang, X., Ren, X., Wang, W., Ding, Y., Zhang, P., Yang, L., Cao, J., Dang, Y., Ha, D., Zhang, W., He, L., Wang, C., Wang, L., Zhang, Q., Yuan, J., Wu, X., Ning, C., & Jeong, C.
- Affiliations
- Jilin University (CN)
- Seoul National University (KR)
- National Centre for Archaeology, Beijing, China.
- University of Southampton (GB)
- Shandong University (CN)
- Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology, Xi’an, China.
- Xinjiang Institute of Culture Relics and Archaeology, Urumqi, China.
- Hunan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Changsha, China.
- Cultural Relics Institute Hebei Province (CN)
- Fudan University (CN)
- Gansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Lanzhou, China.
- Ningxia Institute of Culture Relics and Archaeology, Yinchuan, China.
- Qinghai Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Xining, China.
- Shanxi University (CN)
- Shaanxi Yulin City Cultural Relics Archaeological Exploration Task Force, Yulin, China.
- Inner Mongolia Normal University (CN)
- Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Hohhot, China.
- Hulunbuir Museum, Hulunbuir, China.
- Heilongjiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Harbin, China.
- Yunnan Archaeology (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CN)
- Peking University (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Cai, Dawei
- Kim, Donghee
- Jeong, Choongwon
- ORCID
- Venue
- Science
- Published
- 2025-12-18
- Volume
- 390
- Issue
- 6779
- Pages
- eadu9904-eadu9904
- ISSN
- 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
- 1095-9203
- OpenAlex
- W4417474750
- Cited by
- 11
- References
- 56
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11
- FWCI
- 6.43
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Science (publishedVersion, public-domain)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Seoul National University Open Repository (Seoul National University) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), Republic of Korea (RS-2023-00212640, RS-2024-00437003)
- Ministry of Education, Republic of Korea (RS-2023-00301976)
- National Social Science Foundation of China, China (17ZDA221)
- National Cultural Heritage Administration, China (2024-280)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic and phenotypic traits in livestock
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Forensic and Genetic Research
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic diversity and population structure
- Keywords
- aurochs, cattle domestication, genetic ancestry, Yellow River region, cattle genetic diversity
- MeSH terms
- Domestication, DNA, Ancient, Animals, Cattle, China, Asia, Eastern, Genetic Variation, Genome, History, Ancient
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