410–190 BCE), also referred to as Dongheigou (东黑沟),[1] or Heigouliang-Dongheigou (黑沟梁-东黑沟),[2] is an archaeological culture from the Shirenzigou site in Barkol County, to the east of the Tarim Basin.

Skeletal evidence from sites in Shirenzigou and Xigou in eastern Xinjiang indicate that by the fourth century BCE both horseback riding and mounted archery were practiced along China's northwest frontier.

[3] Genetic studies on Iron Age individuals of the Shirenzigou site dated to circa 200 BCE have shown a fairly balanced admixture between the West Eurasian and East Eurasian genetic pools.

The Yamnaya component suggests a strong probability that the Shirenzigou populations were derived from the Afanasievo culture to the north, and spoke an Indo-European language.

[4] This reinforces an Afanasievo origin hypothesis for the Tocharians, often called the "Steppe hypotheses", rather than a hypothesis favouring BMAC and Andronovo culture origins, the "Bactrian Oasis hypotheses".