A Matrilineal Genetic Perspective of Hanging Coffin Custom in Southern China and Northern Thailand

Summary Hanging Coffin is a unique and ancient burial custom which had been practiced in southern China, Southeast Asia and near Oceania regions for more than 3,000 years. Here, we conducted mitochondrial whole genome analyses of 41 human remains sampled from 13 Hanging Coffin sites in southern China and northern Thailand, which were dated between ∼2,500 to 660 years before present. We found that there were genetic connections between the Hanging Coffin custom people living in different geographic regions. Notably, the matrilineal genetic diversity of the Hanging Coffin people from southern China is much higher than those from northern Thailand, consistent with the hypothesized single origin of the Hanging Coffin custom in southern China about 3,600 years ago, followed by its dispersal in southern China through demic diffusion, while the major dispersal pattern in Southeast Asia is cultural assimilation in the past 2,000 years.