Ancient DNA Reveals Shimao City's Kinship and Sacrifice Practices

Ancient DNA analysis at China's 4,000-year-old Shimao settlement has revealed new details about its population. The study clarified the origins, family relationships, and social organization of the people. It also identified genetic links to distant southern and steppe populations. The research further provided evidence that mass burials at the site, linked to human sacrifice, largely contained men.

The project was led by Professor Qiaomei Fu of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Researchers conducted high-resolution analyses of nuclear deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) from 169 ancient human samples. These samples included 144 unrelated individuals from Shimao and nearby archaeological sites.

Shimao, located in northern Shaanxi Province, was a vast stone-walled settlement covering about four square kilometers. It dates to approximately 4,200 to 3,700 years before the present. Archaeological evidence suggests a strongly stratified society with organized political and social systems. The site also shows extensive evidence of ritual activity and human sacrifice.

Most Shimao inhabitants descended from local people who lived in the region about one thousand years earlier. The analysis found genetic and cultural links to Yangshao Culture, a major Neolithic civilization near the Yellow River. Connections to Taosi Culture and southern rice-farming populations also indicate extensive prehistoric contact. Genetic analysis also reconstructed family pedigrees, suggesting a patrilineal descent and patrilocal residence system.

The findings challenge previous interpretations of human sacrifice at Shimao's East Gate. Earlier ideas suggested most victims were female. However, genetic evidence shows nine out of ten examined burials there were male. Male sacrificial victims were concentrated near the East Gate, while female remains were found in elite cemeteries. This separation suggests a carefully organized system of sacrifice, with roles determined by ritual purpose and location.

This study provides the first direct genetic evidence to investigate power inheritance and social class formation at Shimao. These insights may help researchers understand the family systems and political structures that contributed to early states in East Asia.