In an effort to characterize the people who composed the groups known as the Xiongnu, nuclear and whole mitochondrial DNA data were generated from the skeletal remains of 52 individuals excavated from the Tamir Ulaan Khoshuu (TUK) cemetery in Central Mongolia. This burial site, attributed to the Xiongnu period, was used from the first century BC to the first century AD. Kinship analyses were conducted using autosomal and Y-chromosomal DNA markers along with complete sequences of the mitochondrial genome. These analyses suggested close kin relationships between many individuals. Nineteen such individuals composed a large family spanning five generations. Within this family, we determined that a woman was of especially high status; this is a novel insight into the structure and hierarchy of societies from the Xiongnu period. Moreover, our findings confirmed that the Xiongnu had a strongly admixed mitochondrial and Y-chromosome gene pools and revealed a significant western component in the Xiongnu group studied. Using a fine-scale approach (haplotype instead of haplogroup-level information), we propose Scytho-Siberians as ancestors of the Xiongnu and Huns as their descendants.

为了描述组成匈奴族的人的特征，从蒙古中部塔米尔·乌兰·科修（TUK）公墓出土的52个人的骨骼遗骸中生成了核和整个线粒体DNA数据。这个墓地归功于匈奴时期，是在公元前一世纪至公元一世纪使用的。亲缘关系分析使用常染色体和Y染色体DNA标记以及线粒体基因组的完整序列进行。这些分析表明许多人之间的亲戚关系密切。19个这样的人组成了一个跨越五代人的大家庭。在这个家庭中，我们确定一名妇女的地位特别高；这是对匈奴时期社会结构和等级制度的新颖见解。此外，我们的发现证实，匈奴具有强烈混合的线粒体和Y染色体基因库，并且揭示了在研究的匈奴组中重要的西方成分。使用精细方法（单元型而不是单元组级别的信息），我们建议将Scytho-Siberians作为Xiongnu和Huns的祖先。