Two‑step steppe entry to Xinjiang

Ancient DNA from hundreds of Xinjiang individuals shows two separate steppe ancestries reached western China a millennium apart: an early Afanasievo/Yamnaya‑related arrival and a later Sintashta/Andronovo (Indo‑Iranian‑linked) influx, followed by progressive East Asian admixture that reshaped the region by the Iron Age. Distinguishing these layers clarifies who the Tarim‑region mummies were genetically related to and how Silk‑Road-era mixing eroded distinct steppe signals. — This reframes public narratives about Indo‑European/‘Aryan’ presence in East Asia, with implications for identity politics, historical claims, and how genetic evidence is used (or misused) in contemporary debates.