The Bo people's ancestors built China's cliff-hanging coffins, ancient DNA now shows

Centuries-old burial mystery solved: genetic evidence identifies the cliffside coffin makers

According to Radiotrek — Світ: For centuries, the sight of coffins suspended on cliff faces across southern China and Southeast Asia has puzzled researchers. Now, ancient DNA has provided a long-awaited answer. A new study, with samples analyzed in China and Thailand, confirms that the people who created these hanging burials were the ancestors of today's Bo ethnic group. It also reveals a deep connection between those ancient individuals and Neolithic populations from southern China and Southeast Asia. The practice of hanging coffins had largely disappeared by the Ming era.

The investigation, reported by Daily Galaxy, was based on genetic material from 11 people found at hanging-coffin sites in China and from four additional individuals buried in wooden coffins inside a cave in northwestern Thailand. All 15 share a direct genetic tie with the Bo people, who live in southwestern China. Their descendants now belong to the Yi ethnic minority in Yunnan Province, where they have preserved their own language and cultural traditions.

Wider implications for ancient cultural connections

Beyond identifying the coffin builders, the research demonstrates that these ancient people were related to Neolithic-era communities in southern China and Southeast Asia. Hanging burials slowly ceased during the Ming dynasty, which lasted from 1368 to 1644. The tradition was rooted in the belief that the higher the coffin, the better the deceased's fate. In Thailand, the dead were placed in hollowed-out wooden coffins that rested in caves or on constructed wooden platforms.

This work opens new avenues for understanding how ancient Southeast Asian cultures and the people living in these areas today are connected, both genetically and culturally.

These findings could also guide future archaeological research aimed at tracing the evolution of burial customs and the interactions between groups who inhabited these regions over thousands of years.