Chinese scientists have made groundbreaking discoveries about East Asia's ancient populations by analyzing DNA from 127 individuals who lived in southwest China's Yunnan province between 7,100 and 1,400 years ago.

Published in the latest issue of the journal Science, the study reveals this southwestern Chinese region served as a crucial crossroads where different human groups interacted for millennia.

The research team from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences identified a previously unknown ancient population they call "Xingyi ancestry" through analysis of a 7,100-year-old individual whose genetic makeup was as distinct from modern East Asians as that of a 40,000-year-old early human found near Beijing.

This discovery suggests some ancient Asian populations survived in isolated regions much longer than previously thought, said the researchers.

The study also found important connections to modern Tibetan populations, with the ancient Yunnan individual showing a genetic connection to people living on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau today.

According to Fu Qiaomei, a researcher from the IVPP, these findings help explain Tibetan origins, as the genetic evidence indicates early populations in southwest China interacted with migrants from northern East Asia.

Another significant finding concerns the origins of Austroasiatic-speaking groups now found across Southeast Asia. The researchers discovered the oldest evidence of this ancestry in central Yunnan, dating back 5,100 years -- long before the development of agriculture in the region. This related ancestry began separating genetically at least 19,000 years ago from northern and southern East Asian groups. This challenges previous theories that linked the spread of these populations solely with farming practices.

The comprehensive genetic analysis spanning 5,700 years of Yunnan's history shows how this mountainous region served as a meeting point where northern and southern East Asian populations mixed, Fu said.

As Fu explained, these ancient DNA findings not only help account for Yunnan's remarkable ethnic and linguistic diversity today but also reshape our understanding of human migration patterns across a much broader area from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to Southeast Asia.

By providing new evidence about population movements and interactions over thousands of years, the research offers fresh insights into the complex origins of many modern East Asian groups. (Xinhua)