Editing Xiongnu (section)

== Genetics ==
{{See also|Rouran Khaganate#Genetics|Xianbei#Genetics|Donghu people#Genetics|Huns#Genetics|Scythians#Archaeogenetics|Pannonian Avars#Genetics}}

=== Maternal lineages ===
[[File:Uniparental Haplogroup Assignments by Group and Sex-Bias Z Scores on Xiongnu.png|thumb|right|Uniparental haplogroup assignments by group and sex-bias "z" scores of Xiongnu.<ref name="Choongwon"/>]]
A 2003 study found that 89% of Xiongnu maternal lineages are of East Asian origin, while 11% were of West Eurasian origin. However, a 2016 study found that 37.5% of Xiongnu maternal lineages were West Eurasian, in a central Mongolian sample.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=Joo-Yup |last2=Kuang |first2=Shuntu |title=A Comparative Analysis of Chinese Historical Sources and Y-DNA Studies with Regard to the Early and Medieval Turkic Peoples |journal=Inner Asia |date=2017 |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=197–239 |doi=10.1163/22105018-12340089 |s2cid=165623743 |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/inas/19/2/article-p197_197.xml |issn=1464-8172 |doi-access=free}} "Analysis of the mitochondrial DNA, which is maternally inherited, shows that the Xiongnu remains from this Egyin Gol necropolis consist mainly of Asian lineages (89%). West Eurasian lineages makeup the rest (11%) (Keyser-Tracqui et al. (2003: 258). However, according to a more recent study of ancient human remains from central Mongolia, the Xiongnu population in cen- tral Mongolia possessed a higher frequency of western mitochondrial DNA haplotypes (37.5%) than the Xiongnu from the Egyin Gol necropolis (Rogers 2016: 78)."</ref>

According to Rogers & Kaestle (2022), these studies make clear that the Xiongnu population is extremely similar to the preceding [[Slab Grave culture|Slab Grave]] population, which had a similar frequency of Eastern and Western maternal haplogroups, supporting a hypothesis of continuity from the Slab Grave period to the Xiongnu. They wrote that the bulk of the genetics research indicates that roughly 27% of Xiongnu maternal haplogroups were of West Eurasian origin, while the rest were East Asian.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rogers |first1=Leland Liu |last2=Kaestle |first2=Frederika Ann |title=Analysis of mitochondrial DNA haplogroup frequencies in the population of the slab burial mortuary culture of Mongolia (ca. 1100–300 BCE ) |journal=American Journal of Biological Anthropology |date=2022 |volume=177 |issue=4 |pages=644–657 |doi=10.1002/ajpa.24478 |s2cid=246508594 |language=en |issn=2692-7691|doi-access=free }} " The first pattern is that the slab burial mtDNA frequencies are extremely similar to those of the aggregated Xiongnu populations and relatively similar to those of the various Bronze Age Mongolian populations, strongly supporting a population continuity hypothesis for the region over these time periods (Honeychurch, 2013)"</ref>

Some examples of maternal haplogroups observed in Xiongnu specimens include [[Haplogroup D (mtDNA)#D4|D4b2b4]], [[Haplogroup N (mtDNA)|N9a2a]], [[Haplogroup G (mtDNA)|G3a3]], [[Haplogroup D (mtDNA)#D4|D4a6]] and [[Haplogroup D (mtDNA)#D4|D4b2b2b]].{{sfn|Damgaard et al.|2018 |loc=Supplementary Table 8, Rows 87-88, 94-96}} and [[Haplogroup U (mtDNA)#Haplogroup U2|U2e1]].<ref>{{harvnb|Kim et al.|2010|p=429}}</ref>

===Paternal lineages===
According to Rogers & Kaestle (2022), roughly 47% of Xiongnu period remains belonged to paternal haplogroups associated with modern West Eurasians, while the rest (53%) belonged to East Asian haplogroups. They observed that this contrasts strongly with the preceding [[Slab Grave culture|Slab Grave]] period, which was dominated by East Asian patrilineages. They suggest that this may reflect an aggressive expansion of people with West Eurasian paternal haplogroups, or perhaps the practice of marriage alliances or cultural networks favoring people with Western patrilines.<ref>{{harvnb|Rogers|Kaestle|2022|ps=:"While during the slab burial period (ca.1100–300 BCE) eastern patrilines seem to have been dominant, in the Xiongnu period about half of the population had western patrilines with virtually no change to the mtDNA gene pool in east–west terms. If sex bias migration patterns were similar with those found in Europe, this increase of western patrilines would be consistent with aggressive expansion of people with western male ancestry (Batini et al., 2017); however, such a pattern could also be due to a gradual nonaggressive assimilation, such as the practice of marriage alliances associated with an expansion of trade or cultural networks that favored people with western patrilines (Honeychurch, 2013)."}}</ref>

Some examples of paternal haplogroups in Xiongnu specimens include [[haplogroup Q (Y-DNA)|Q1b]],<ref>{{cite conference|last1=Kang |first1=L. L. |last2=Jin |first2=T. |last3=Wu |first3=F. |last4=Ao |first4=X. |last5=Wen |first5=S. |last6=Wang |first6=C. |last7=Huang |first7=Y. |last8=Li |first8=X. |last9=Li |first9=H. Y |publisher=American Society of Human Genetics |conference=ASHG 63rd Annual Meeting October 22–26, 2013: Boston|date= 2013 |volume=2041|title=Y chromosomes of ancient Hunnu people and its implication on the phylogeny of East Asian linguistic families}} (Poster abstracts [https://www.ashg.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/2013-poster-abstracts.pdf p. 235]; 2041F)</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Knowing the Xiongnu Culture in Eastern Tianshan Mountain from Tomb Heigouliang and Dongheigou Site at the Beginning of Xihan Dynasty|author1=Ren Meng|author2=Wang Jian Xin|date=2011|journal= Xibu Kaogu|pages=252–290}} (Journal: {{lang|zh|西部考古}} {{transliteration|zh|Xibu kaogu}} [Archaeology of the western regions])</ref> [[Haplogroup C-M217|C3]],<ref>{{harvnb|Kim et al.|2010|p=429}}</ref> [[Haplogroup R1|R1]], [[Haplogroup R1b|R1b]], [[Haplogroup O-M175|O3a]] and [[Haplogroup O-M175|O3a3b2]],{{sfn|Damgaard et al.|2018|loc=Supplementary Table 9, Rows 20-23}} R1a1a1b2a-Z94, R1a1a1b2a2-Z2124, Q1a, N1a,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Keyser|first1=C.|last2=Zvénigorosky|first2=V. |display-authors=etal |s2cid = 220881540|year=2020|title=Genetic evidence suggests a sense of family, parity and conquest in the Xiongnu Iron Age nomads of Mongolia |journal=Human Genetics|volume=140|issue=2|pages=349–359|doi = 10.1007/s00439-020-02209-4|pmid = 32734383}}</ref> [[Haplogroup J-M172|J2a]], [[Haplogroup J-M267|J1a]] and [[E1b1b|E1b1b1a]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jeong |first1=Choongwon |last2=Wang |first2=Ke |last3=Wilkin |first3=Shevan |last4=Erdene |first4=Myagmar |last5=Hendy |first5=Jessica |last6=Warinner |first6=Christina |title=A Dynamic 6,000-Year Genetic History of Eurasia's Eastern Steppe |journal=Cell |date=2020 |volume=183 |issue=4 |pages=890–904 |doi=10.1016/j.cell.2020.10.015 |pmid=33157037 |pmc=7664836 |hdl=21.11116/0000-0007-77BF-D |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

According to Lee & Kuang, the main paternal lineages of 62 Xiongnu Elite remains in the [[Egiin Gol]] valley belonged to the paternal [[Haplogroup N1c1|haplogroups N1c1]], [[Haplogroup Q-M242|Q-M242]], and [[Haplogroup C-M217|C-M217]]. One sample from Duurlig Nars belonged to [[Haplogroup R1a|R1a1]] and another to C-M217. Xiongnu remains from [[Barkol Kazakh Autonomous County|Barkol]] belonged exclusively to haplogroup Q. They argue that the haplogroups C2, Q and N likely formed the major paternal haplogroups of the Xiongnu tribes, while R1a was the most common paternal haplogroup (44.5%) among neighbouring nomads from the Altai mountain, who were probably incorporated into the Xiongnu confederation and may be associated with the [[Jie people]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=Joo-Yup |last2=Kuang |first2=Shuntu |date=18 October 2017 |title=A Comparative Analysis of Chinese Historical Sources and y-dna Studies with Regard to the Early and Medieval Turkic Peoples |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/inas/19/2/article-p197_197.xml |journal=Inner Asia |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=197–239 |doi=10.1163/22105018-12340089 |issn=2210-5018}}</ref>

===Autosomal ancestry===
A study published in the ''[[American Journal of Physical Anthropology]]'' in October 2006 detected significant genetic continuity between the examined individuals at Egyin Gol and modern Mongolians.{{sfn|Keyser-Tracqui et al.|2006|p=272}}

[[File:Xiongnu ancestry.png|thumb|upright=1.5|Mapping of Xiongnu ancestry per burial sites in Mongolia. [[Ancient Northeast Asians]] ([[Ancient Northeast Asians|ANA]] <small>{{Color sample|green|0.6}}</small>, [[Khövsgöl LBA|Khövsgöl]] <small>{{Color sample|#9400D3|0.6}}</small>) form the main contribution, followed by the hybrid [[Saka]] culture ([[Chandman culture|Chandman]] <small>{{Color sample|pink|0.6}}</small>), and smaller contributions of [[Han people|Han]], [[Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex|BMAC]] and [[Sarmatian]].<ref name="Choongwon"/>]]
A genetic study published in ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' in May 2018 examined the remains of five Xiongnu.{{sfn|Damgaard et al.|2018|loc=Supplementary Table 2, Rows 28-32}} The study concluded that Xiongnu confederation was genetically heterogeneous, and Xiongnu individuals belonging to two distinct groups, one being of primarily [[East Asian]] origin (associated with the earlier [[Slab-grave culture]]) and the other presenting considerable admixture levels with West Eurasian (possibly from Central Saka) sources. The evidence suggested that the [[Huns]] probably emerged through minor male-driven geneflow into the Saka through westward migrations of the Xiongnu.<ref>{{harvnb|Damgaard et al.|2018|pp=371–374}}: "Principal Component Analyses and D-statistics suggest that the Xiongnu individuals belong to two distinct groups, one being of East Asian origin and the other presenting considerable admixture levels with West Eurasian sources... We find that Central Sakas are accepted as a source for these 'western-admixed' Xiongnu in a single-wave model. In line with this finding, no East Asian gene flow is detected compared to Central Sakas as these form a clade with respect to the East Asian Xiongnu in a D-statistic, and furthermore, cluster closely together in the PCA (Figure 2)... Overall, our data show that the Xiongnu confederation was genetically heterogeneous, and that the Huns emerged following minor male-driven East Asian gene flow into the preceding Sakas that they invaded... As such our results support the contention that the disappearance of the Inner Asian Scythians and Sakas around two thousand years ago was a cultural transition that coincided with the westward migration of the Xiongnu. This Xiongnu invasion also led to the displacement of isolated remnant groups—related to Late Bronze Age pastoralists—that had remained on the south-eastern side of the Tian Shan mountains."</ref>

A study published in November 2020 examined 60 early and late Xiongnu individuals from across Mongolia. The study found that the Xiongnu resulted from the admixture of three different clusters from the Mongolian region. The two early genetic clusters are "early Xiongnu_west" from the [[Altai Mountains]] (formed at 92% by the hybrid Eurasian [[Chandman]] ancestry, and 8% [[Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex|BMAC]] ancestry), and "early Xiongnu_rest" from the [[Mongolia]]n Plateau (individuals with primarily [[Ulaanzuukh]]-[[Slab Grave]] ancestry, or mixed with "early Xiongnu_west"). The later third cluster named "late Xiongnu" has even higher heterogenity, with the continued combination of [[Chandman]] and [[Ulaanzuukh]]-[[Slab Grave]] ancestry, and additional geneflow from [[Sarmatian]] and [[Han Chinese]] sources. Their uniparental haplogroup assignments also showed heterogenetic influence on their ethnogenesis as well as their connection with Huns.<ref name="Choongwon">{{Cite journal|last1=Jeong|first1=Choongwon|last2=Wang|first2=Ke|last3=Wilkin|first3=Shevan|last4=Taylor|first4=William Timothy Treal|last5=Miller|first5=Bryan K.|last6=Bemmann|first6=Jan H.|last7=Stahl|first7=Raphaela|last8=Chiovelli|first8=Chelsea|last9=Knolle|first9=Florian|last10=Ulziibayar|first10=Sodnom|last11=Khatanbaatar|first11=Dorjpurev|date=12 November 2020|title=A Dynamic 6,000-Year Genetic History of Eurasia's Eastern Steppe|journal=Cell|language=English|volume=183|issue=4|pages=890–904.e29|doi=10.1016/j.cell.2020.10.015|issn=0092-8674|pmid=33157037|pmc=7664836 }} [[File:CC-BY icon.svg|50px]] Text was copied from this source, which is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License].
</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Maróti |first1=Zoltán |last2=Neparáczki |first2=Endre |last3=Schütz |first3=Oszkár |date=25 May 2022 |title=The genetic origin of Huns, Avars, and conquering Hungarians |journal=[[Current Biology]] |language=English |volume= 32|issue= 13|pages= 2858–2870.e7|doi=10.1016/j.cub.2022.04.093 |pmid=35617951 |s2cid=249050620|doi-access=free |bibcode=2022CBio...32E2858M }}</ref> In contrast, the later [[Mongol Empire|Mongols]] had a much higher eastern Eurasian ancestry as a whole, similar to that of modern-day Mongolic-speaking populations.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Jeong|first1=Choongwon |date=12 November 2020|title=A Dynamic 6,000-Year Genetic History of Eurasia's Eastern Steppe|journal=Cell|language=English|volume=183|issue=4 |pages=890–904.e29 |doi=10.1016/j.cell.2020.10.015|issn=0092-8674|pmid=33157037|pmc=7664836 |quote=The Xiongnu emerged from the mixing of these populations and those from surrounding regions. By comparison, the Mongols exhibit much higher eastern Eurasian ancestry, resembling present-day Mongolic-speaking populations.}} </ref>

A Xiongnu remain (GD1-4) analysed in a 2024 study was found to be entirely derived from [[Ancient Northeast Asians]] without any West Eurasian-associated ancestry. The sample clustered closely with a [[Göktürks|Göktürk]] remain (GD1-1) from the later Turkic period.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=Juhyeon |last2=Sato |first2=Takehiro |last3=Tajima |first3=Atsushi |last4=Amgalantugs |first4=Tsend |last5=Tsogtbaatar |first5=Batmunkh |last6=Nakagome |first6=Shigeki |last7=Miyake |first7=Toshihiko |last8=Shiraishi |first8=Noriyuki |last9=Jeong |first9=Choongwon |last10=Gakuhari |first10=Takashi |date=1 March 2024 |title=Medieval genomes from eastern Mongolia share a stable genetic profile over a millennium |url=https://www.pivotscipub.com/hpgg/4/1/0004 |journal=Human Population Genetics and Genomics |language=en |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=1–11 |doi=10.47248/hpgg2404010004 |issn=2770-5005|doi-access=free }}</ref>

====Relationship between ethnicity and status among the Xiongnu====
[[File:Map of Mongolia (Early Iron Age).png|thumb|left|upright=1.45|Pre-Xiongnu populations. The [[Slab Grave culture|Slab-grave]] people were uniformly of [[Ancient Northeast Asian]] origin ([[Ancient Northeast Asians|ANA]] <small>{{Color sample|green|0.6}}</small>), while [[Saka]] populations to the west combined [[Sintashta]] (<small>{{Color sample|orange|0.6}}</small>) and Ancient Northeast Asian ([[Baikal EBA]] <small>{{Color sample|#3CB371|0.6}}</small>) ancestry, with some [[Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex|BMAC]] <small>{{Color sample|#8B4513|0.6}}</small> component.]]
Although the Xiongnu were ethnically heterogeneous as a whole, it appears that variability was highly related to social status. Genetic heterogeneity was highest among retainers of low status, as identified by their smaller and peripheral tombs. These retainers mainly displayed ancestry related to the [[Chandman culture|Chandman/Uyuk culture]] (characterized by a hybrid Eurasian gene pool combining the genetic profile of the [[Sintashta culture]] and Baikal hunter-gatherers ([[Baikal EBA]])), or various combinations of [[Chandman culture|Chandman/Uyuk]] and Ancient Northeast Asian [[Ulaanzuukh]]/[[Slab Grave]] profiles.<ref name="JLEE"/>

On the contrary, high status Xiongnu individuals tended to have less genetic diversity, and their ancestry was essentially derived from the Eastern Eurasian [[Ulaanzuukh]]/[[Slab Grave culture]], or alternatively from the [[Xianbei]], suggesting multiple sources for their Eastern ancestry. High Eastern ancestry was more common among high status female samples, while low status male samples tended to be more diverse and having higher Western ancestry.<ref name="JLEE"/> A likely ''[[chanyu]]'', a male ruler of the Empire identified by his prestigious tomb, was shown to have had similar ancestry as a high status female in the "western frontiers", deriving about 39.3% [[Slab Grave culture|Slab Grave]] (or [[Ancient Northeast Asian]]) genetic ancestry, 51.9% [[Han people|Han]] (or Yellow River farmers) ancestry, with the rest (8.8%) being [[Saka]] ([[Chandman culture|Chandman]]) ancestry.<ref name="JLEE">{{cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=Juhyeon |last2=Miller |first2=Bryan K. |last3=Bayarsaikhan |first3=Jamsranjav |last4=Johannesson |first4=Erik |last5=Ventresca Miller |first5=Alicia |last6=Warinner |first6=Christina |last7=Jeong |first7=Choongwon |date=14 April 2023 |title=Genetic population structure of the Xiongnu Empire at imperial and local scales |journal=Science Advances |language=en |volume=9 |issue=15 |pages=eadf3904 |bibcode=2023SciA....9F3904L |doi=10.1126/sciadv.adf3904 |issn=2375-2548 |pmc=10104459 |pmid=37058560 |quote="In this genome-wide archaeogenetic study, we find high genetic heterogeneity among late Xiongnu-era individuals at two cemeteries located along the far western frontier of the Xiongnu empire and describe patterns of genetic diversity related to social status. Overall, we find that genetic heterogeneity is highest among lower-status individuals. In particular, the satellite graves surrounding the elite square tombs at TAK show extreme levels of genetic heterogeneity, suggesting that these individuals, who were likely low-ranking retainers, were drawn from diverse parts of the empire. In contrast, the highest-status individuals at the two sites tended to have lower genetic diversity and a high proportion of ancestry deriving from EIA Slab Grave groups, suggesting that these groups may have disproportionately contributed to the ruling elite during the formation of the Xiongnu empire." (...) "a chanyu, or ruler of the empire. Like the elite women at the western frontier, he also had very high eastern Eurasian ancestry (deriving 39.3 and 51.9% from SlabGrave1 and Han_2000BP, respectively, and the rest from Chandman_IA; data file S2C)" (...) "Chandman_IA was representative of people in far western Mongolia associated with Sagly/Uyuk (ca. 500 to 200 BCE), Saka (ca. 900 to 200 BCE), and Pazyryk (ca. 500 to 200 BCE) groups in Siberia and Kazakhstan." (...) "This further suggests the existence of an aristocracy in the Xiongnu empire, that elite status and power was concentrated within specific subsets of the broader population."... Although not conclusive, this suggests that the ANA ancestry source of the Xiongnu-period individuals may not be exclusively traced back to the Slab Grave culture but may also include nearby groups with a similar ANA genetic profile, such as the Xianbei. ... Last, our findings also confirm that the highest-status individuals in this study were females, supporting previous observations that Xiongnu women played an especially prominent role in the expansion and integration of new territories along the empire's frontier.}}</ref>
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