Palaeogenomic Investigation of the Past Human Populations in Northeast Asia

Over the last two decades, ancient DNA has revealed a fascinating snapshot of the genetic variation and population dynamics of past human populations. In this talk, I will present human population dynamics in ancient northeast Asia, inferred from the ancient human genomes spanning a time period between approximately 17,000 and 550 years ago. We produced genome sequences of 40 ancient individuals from different parts of northeast Asia covering Yakutia and Lake Baikal and revealed previously unknown gene flow and admixture events during a time period between the Late Upper Palaeolithic and Iron Age. Our genetic data further provided the first direct genetic evidence for the ancestors of Palaeo-Inuits who spread eastwards from Siberia and launched the second wave of migration into the Americas. We also discover the presence of Yersinia pestis, plague-related bacterium, in ancient Northeast Asia. This talk will cover all these recent findings and show the dynamic population structure in ancient northeast Asia.