28 August 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

A new study attributes Japanese, Korean and Turkish languages all to a common ancestor in northeastern China

According to a new study, modern languages ranging from Japanese and Korean to Turkish and Mongolian may have had a common origin from ancient China some 9,000 years ago.

The findings detailed on Wednesday show that hundreds of millions of individuals who speak what the researchers term Trans Eurasian languages spanning a 5,000-mile span share a common genetic ancestor (8,000 km).

An international team of scientists has concluded that the Trans-Eurasian languages, also known as Altai, can be traced back to early millet growers in the Liao Valley in what is now Northeast China and that its spread was driven by agriculture.

The findings show how humankind’s adoption of agriculture after the Ice Age fueled the spread of some of the world’s main language groups. As hunter-gatherers converted to an agricultural existence, millet was an important early crop.

The origins and degree to which the five groups that make up the Transeurasian family are related have long been an area of contention among scholars.

There are 98 Trans Eurasian languages. Numerous Turkic languages, such as Turkish in portions of Europe, Anatolia, Central Asia, and Siberia, as well as various Mongolic languages, such as Mongolian in Central and Northeast Asia, and various Tungusic languages in Manchuria and Siberia, are among them.

Distribution of Transeurasian languages in the past and in the present. Photo: Nature
Distribution of Transeurasian languages in the past and in the present. Photo: Nature

Based on genetic and archaeological evidence, as well as linguistic analysis, the researchers concluded that the languages spread north and west into Siberia and the steppes, and east into Korea and Japan as farmers moved across northeast Asia — a conclusion that challenges the traditional “pastoralist hypothesis,” which proposed that nomads led the dispersal away from the eastern steppe.

The research underscored the complex beginnings of modern populations and cultures. 

“Accepting that the roots of one’s language, culture or people lie beyond the present national boundaries is a kind of surrender of identity, which some people are not yet prepared to make,” said comparative linguist Martine Robbeets, leader of the Archaeolinguistic Research Group at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany and lead author.

“But the science of human history shows us that the history of all languages, cultures, and peoples is one of extended interaction and mixture,” he added.

The researchers devised a dataset of vocabulary concepts for the 98 languages, identified a core of inherited words related to agriculture, and fashioned a language family tree.

Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History archaeologist and study co-author Mark Hudson, the researchers compared artifacts from 255 archaeological sites in China, Japan, the Korean peninsula, and the Russian Far East, looking for similarities in pottery, stone tools, and plant and animal remains. They also took into account the dates of 269 old agricultural remnants found at various locations.

Farmers in northeastern China ultimately supplemented millet with rice and wheat, an agricultural package that was passed down when these communities went to the Korean peninsula about 1300 BC and then to Japan around 1000 BC, according to the study.

For example, a woman’s remains found in Yokchido in South Korea had 95 percent ancestry from Japan’s ancient Jomon people, indicating her recent ancestors had migrated over the sea. 

“By advancing new evidence from ancient DNA, our research thus confirms recent findings that Japanese and Korean populations have West Liao River ancestry, whereas it contradicts previous claims that there is no genetic correlate of the Transeurasian language family,” the researchers said.

The researchers from Britain, China, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia, the Netherlands and the United States published their findings in the journal Nature on Wednesday.

Related Articles

Ancient ‘Cancer-Treating’ Magical Amulet Discovered in Türkiye’s Antioch of Pisidia

30 December 2024

30 December 2024

An intriguing artifact was discovered during excavations in the ancient city of Pisidia Antioch in Isparta province in western Türkiye:...

Inscription dedicated to Roman Emperor Hadrian found in ancient city of Blaundus

26 November 2024

26 November 2024

An inscription dedicated to the Roman Emperor Hadrian was discovered during the ongoing excavations at the ancient city of Blaundus...

2nd-Century Statue Head Discovered at Fethiye Castle

22 August 2024

22 August 2024

Türkiye’s coastal town of Fethiye, which is famous for its natural beauties and historical sites, found an 1800-year-old statue head...

A new study reveals that “Bog Bodies” were part of a Millennia-old tradition

10 January 2023

10 January 2023

Archaeologists have studied hundreds of ancient “Bog Bodies” discovered in Europe’s wetlands, revealing that they were part of a millennia-old...

A very Rare Medieval Pocket Sundial Discovered in Germany

31 July 2023

31 July 2023

A rare Medieval sundial, which is approximately the size of a matchbox was discovered in the old town of Marburg,...

Mass Grave of 150 Roman Legionaries Discovered in Vienna—First Direct Evidence of Ancient Combat on the Danube Limes

4 April 2025

4 April 2025

Archaeologists from the Vienna Museum have made a groundbreaking discovery on the outskirts of Vienna, unearthing the remains of approximately...

The Jinn of Girnavaz Mound

6 February 2021

6 February 2021

Girnavaz mound is in the north of Nusaybin district of Mardin province and Nusaybin 4 km is away. It is...

Ming-era two shipwrecks found in South China Sea

23 May 2023

23 May 2023

In the South China Sea, two ancient shipwrecks that date back to the middle of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) were...

5,000-Year-Old public eating space with food still inside discovered in ancient Lagash

2 February 2023

2 February 2023

Archaeologists have unearthed the remains of a public eating space that’s nearly 5,000 years old in southern Iraq, the University...

Rare Astrolabe Discovered in Verona Sheds Light On Islamic, Jewish, and Christian Scientific Exchange

6 March 2024

6 March 2024

An eleventh-century rare astrolabe bearing Arabic and Hebrew inscriptions was recently discovered in a museum in Verona, Italy. It dates...

Farmer was Discovers 2600-year-old Stone Slab of Pharaoh Apries

19 June 2021

19 June 2021

The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities announced that a farmer in Ismailia, Egypt, uncovered a 2,600-year-old stone monument erected by Pharaoh...

‘World’s oldest dated rune stone’ found in Norway

18 January 2023

18 January 2023

The oldest known Rune stone in Norway has been discovered by Norwegian archaeologists working at the Museum of Cultural History...

Stone Penis Found in Medieval Spanish ruins Had Violent Purpose

11 June 2023

11 June 2023

Archaeologists found a six-inch stone penis while excavating the Tower of Meira (Torre de Meira) in the city of Ría...

New discoveries announced at Sanxingdui Ruins

20 March 2021

20 March 2021

Chinese archaeologists announced on Saturday that some new major discoveries have been made at the legendary Sanxingdui site in southwestern...

3D printing technology was used for the restored relic restoration of an ancient palace in Liangzhu Archaeological Site

11 July 2021

11 July 2021

Six rebuilt massive wooden pillars of an old palace have been exposed to the public for the first time at...