biostudies-literatureTao LNational Key Research and Development Program of Chinamsag034https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC12917239biostudies-literatureUnknown43(2)Cave burial is a funerary practice believed to be associated with modern Kra-Dai (KD) and Hmong-Mien (HM) speakers for thousands of years. However, the extent to which these ancient cave burial practitioners contributed to the formation of modern ethnic minority groups remains poorly understood due to the limited ancient genomic data. We generated 14 newly sequenced ancient human genomes from cave burial sites in Guangxi. The findings reveal continuous gene flow from northern lineages into ancient cave burial populations, shaping their genetic profiles over time. We observed a significant genetic distinction in HM populations: Southeast Asian HM groups derive 74.8% to 100% of their ancestry from cave burials, preserving a robust ancient southern genetic signature, while Chinese HM populatiMolecular biology and evolutionGenetic formation and regional disparities of Kra-Dai and Hmong-Mien speakers inferred from ancient genomes of cave burial populations in southwest China.PMC129172392024YFC3306701Bai TXie GLin QTao LXie YGuo JWang BHe HZhu KWang CCfalseGenetic formation and regional disparities of Kra-Dai and Hmong-Mien speakers inferred from ancient genomes of cave burial populations in southwest China.Cave burial is a funerary practice believed to be associated with modern Kra-Dai (KD) and Hmong-Mien (HM) speakers for thousands of years. However, the extent to which these ancient cave burial practitioners contributed to the formation of modern ethnic minority groups remains poorly understood due to the limited ancient genomic data. We generated 14 newly sequenced ancient human genomes from cave burial sites in Guangxi. The findings reveal continuous gene flow from northern lineages into ancient cave burial populations, shaping their genetic profiles over time. We observed a significant genetic distinction in HM populations: Southeast Asian HM groups derive 74.8% to 100% of their ancestry from cave burials, preserving a robust ancient southern genetic signature, while Chinese HM populati2026-01-01T00:00:00Z2026 Feb2026-07-09T11:22:00.519Z2026-07-09T10:46:22.902ZS-EPMC129172394163280810.1093/molbev/msag034