Cave Burial Genomes from Guangxi: Local Kra-Dai Roots and the Polyphyletic Formation of Hmong-Mien Speakers

A Fudan University team led by Wang Chuanchao, working with the Guangxi Institute of Cultural Relics Protection and Archaeology, has sequenced 14 ancient human genomes from eight cliff-burial sites in Guangxi, publishing in Molecular Biology and Evolution. The sites—Layi, Huatuyan, Baitaishan, Genggaishan, Pingpochang Shendong, Cenxunshan, Dahua Bandadong, and Ladashan—span a distinctive funerary tradition.

Over the past roughly 1,500 years, the cliff-burial people maintained a largely stable genetic structure, though ancestry linked to northern Yellow River farming populations gradually increased. Modern Kra-Dai speakers closely resemble the cliff-burial people of about 1,500 years ago, pointing to strong local continuity.

Hmong-Mien speakers, by contrast, show sharp regional differences: those in Southeast Asia retain 75–100% of the local cliff-burial ancestry, while those within China retain only 22–27% and show substantial admixture with Han and northern groups. The contrast reveals how southern local continuity and historical southward migration from the north together shaped the genetic landscape of present-day Kra-Dai and Hmong-Mien populations.

Source: Tao Le, Xie Ying, He Haifeng et al.; corresponding Wang Chuanchao, Lin Qiang, Xie Guangmao. Molecular Biology and Evolution / Fudan KLCA press release, 2026-02-04.