Chinese scientists unveil visage of a 1,500-year-old ancient emperor using genome sequencing

Chinese scientists used advanced archaeological techniques to recreate the appearance of Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty (557-581) for the first time in China. The collaboration between Fudan University’s Institute for Archaeological Science and the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology led the progress. Emperor Wu, born in 543 AD, aimed to stabilize northern China but died young and was buried in Shaanxi Province. His tomb was discovered in 1993, as well as his skeletal remains. Reconstructing appearance is difficult due to the need for intact skulls and quality genomic data. Researchers from Fudan University used specialized ancient DNA capture probes to extract about 1 million genetic loci from Yuwen Yong’s skeletal samples, allowing them to recreate his hair texture, skin tone, and eye color. After six years of work, they successfully brought the emperor’s likeness to life. __________________ ShanghaiEye focuses on producing top-quality contents. Nobody knows SHANGHAI better than us. Please subscribe to us ☻☻☻ __________________ For more stories, please click ■ What’s up today in Shanghai, the most updated news of the city ■ Amazing Shanghai, exploring the unknown corners of the city, learning the people, food and stories behind them ■ What Chinese people’s lives are like during the post COVID-19 period ■ Views of foreign scholars on China and its affairs ■ Foreign faces in Shanghai, people living in this city sharing their true feelings ■ Mini-docs showing why China is the country it is today __________________ ☎Leave us messages if you have any suggestions or questions! Thank you!