Phylogenetic Analysis of mtDNA from the Ancient Human of Yuan Dynasty in Inner Mongolia in China1

A study of the genetic structure of an ancient human excavated from the Yikeshu site of Yuanshangdu ancient city in Inner Mongolia and the relationships between the ancient population and the extant populations was carried out. Sequences of the control region and coding region of mtDNA from the ancient human were analyzed by using direct sequencing and restriction-fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) methods. Phylogenetic analysis and multidimensional scaling analysis were also performed on the mtDNA data of the ancient population and 12 extant populations. These results show that the ancient individuals of Yikeshu site can be assigned to D, G, B and Z haplogroups that are prevalent in Duars and Mongolians from Inner Mongolia. The ancient population is also closer to Duar and Mongolian populations in genetic distance than other compared populations. This study reveals that the ancient population from Yikeshu site in the Yuan Dynasty shares a common ancestor with Mongolic-speaking Daur and Mongolian tribes.