The westward expansion of human millet consumption from north China has important implications for understanding early interactions between the East and West. However, few studies have focused on the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, the vast geographical area directly linking the ancient cultures of the Eurasian Steppe and the Gansu Corridor of China. In this study, we present the largest isotopic investigation of Bronze Age China (n = 110) on material from the key site of Tianshanbeilu, in eastern Xinjiang. The large range of δ13C values (–17.6‰ to –7.2‰; –15.5 ± 1.2‰) provides direct evidence of unique dietary diversity and consumption of significant C4 resources (millets). The high δ15N results (10.3‰ to 16.7‰; 14.7 ± 0.8‰) likely reflect sheep/goat and wild game consumption and the arid climate of the Taklamakan Desert. Radiocarbon dates from four individuals indicate Tianshanbeilu was in use between 1940 and 1215 cal bc. The Tianshanbeilu results are then analysed with respect to 52 Bronze Age sites from across Eurasia, to investigate the spread and chronology of significant human millet consumption and human migration. This isotopic survey finds novel evidence that the second millennium bc was a dynamic period, with significant dietary interconnectivity occurring between north China, Central Asia and Siberia. Further, we argue that this ‘Isotopic Millet Road’ extended all the way to the Mediterranean and Central Europe, and conclude that these C4 dietary signatures of millet consumption reflect early links (migration and/or resource transfer) between the Bronze Age inhabitants of modern-day China and Europe.

Here, we present δ 13 C and δ 15N results for the dietary reconstruction of nomadic pastoralists from the Iron Age (ca. 1000 BC-8 AD) site of Heigouliang. The human (n = 27) δ 13 C values range from À19.6‰ to À17.0‰ with a mean value of À18.5 ± 0.5‰, and the δ 15 N results range from 11.5‰ to 13.8‰ with a mean value of 12.4 ± 0.6‰. The results indicated that animals, like sheep, were part of the predominately C 3 terrestrial diet, but two individuals have values greater than À18‰ that is indicative of some input of C 4 foods in their diets. Because of a lack of faunal samples and to supply complementary information concerning plant consumption, teeth from four individuals were analysed for dental calculus microfossils. Starch grains were found to correspond to Triticeae and Poaceae, possibly including wheat (Triticum aestivum), barley (Hordeum vulgare), highland barley (H. vulgare L var. nudum), foxtail millet (Setaria italica) and/or common millet (Panicum miliaceum). At the population level, no dietary differences were detected between burial owners and sacrificial victims, but variations were found when specific tombs were analysed. In particular, individuals with bone trauma associated with armed conflict also had distinct isotopic signatures possibly suggesting that some of the sacrificial victims could have been captured warriors that were sacrificed for the burial owners. While limited, the results are some of the first from an Iron Age population from Xinjiang and contribute to our understanding of the dietary patterns of this region.

Xinjiang is a key region in northwestern China, connecting East and West Eurasian populations and cultures for thousands of years. To understand the genetic history of Xinjiang, we sequenced 237 complete ancient human mitochondrial genomes from the Bronze Age through Historical Era (41 archaeological sites). Overall, the Bronze Age Xinjiang populations show high diversity and regional genetic affinities with Steppe and northeastern Asian populations along with a deep ancient Siberian connection for the Tarim Basin Xiaohe individuals. In the Iron Age, in general, Steppe-related and northeastern Asian admixture intensified, with North and East Xinjiang populations showing more affinity with northeastern Asians and South Xinjiang populations showing more affinity with Central Asians. The genetic structure observed in the Historical Era of Xinjiang is similar to that in the Iron Age, demonstrating genetic continuity since the Iron Age with some additional genetic admixture with populations surrounding the Xinjiang region.

Eurasian steppes experienced frequent cultural transfers, human migration, and diffusion of techniques during the Bronze Age. The Hami Oasis is one of the most dynamic areas and has attracted multiple cultural flows. It is an important area that connects various routes of the Tianshan Corridor with the Hexi Corridor in western China. The Tianshanbeilu cemetery is the largest Bronze Age cemetery in Hami. Thirty-seven new radiocarbon dates allowed us to establish a new and more accurate chronology for Tianshanbeilu. Our results showed that the Tianshanbeilu cemetery was used from approximately 2022–1802 cal BC and remained in use from 1093–707 cal BC. This indicates that Tianshanbeilu is the earliest and longest-used known cemetery in eastern Xinjiang. By incorporating the typology of artifacts and stratigraphic relationships, the development of the Tianshanbeilu cemetery was divided into four phases. The first phase was from 2011–1672 cal BC, the second phase was from 1660–1408 cal BC, the third phase was from 1385–1256 cal BC, and the fourth phase was from 1214–1029 cal BC.

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