From gendered sacrifice to ancient politics: DNA lifts shroud on early Chinese civilisation

Thousands of years ago, a handful of burgeoning civilisations were forming the earliest cultures of what would evolve into China. Among these peoples were the Shimao, who constructed majestic walls that were mistakenly believed to be part of the Great Wall of China until jade artefacts were discovered, dating the infrastructure to be much older. The Shimao inhabited Shaanxi, in central China, between 2300–1800 BC, a period so remote that traditional archaeology faces limitations in uncovering...