Ancient human DNA in sub-Saharan Africa lifts veil on prehistory

[Grant]

https://phys.org/news/2017-09-ancient-human-dna-sub-saharan-africa.html

"The first large-scale study of ancient human DNA from sub-Saharan Africa opens a long-awaited window into the identity of prehistoric populations in the region and how they moved around and replaced one another over the past 8,000 years.

The findings, published Sept. 21 in Cell by an international research team led by Harvard Medical School, answer several longstanding mysteries and uncover surprising details about sub-Saharan African ancestry—including genetic adaptations for a hunter-gatherer lifestyle and the first glimpses of population distribution before farmers and animal herders swept across the continent about 3,000 years ago."

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"The Hadza, according to genomic comparisons, are today more closely related to non-Africans than to other Africans. The researchers hypothesize that the Hadza are direct descendants of the group that migrated out of Africa, and possibly spread within Africa as well, after about 50,000 years ago.

Another discovery lay in wait in East Africa.

Scientists had predicted the existence of an ancient population based on the observation that present-day people in southern Africa share ancestry with people in the Near East. The 3,000-year-old remains of a young girl in Tanzania provided the missing evidence.

Reich and colleagues suspect that the girl belonged to a herding population that contributed significant ancestry to present-day people from Ethiopia and Somalia down to South Africa. The ancient population was about one-third Eurasian, and the researchers were able to further pinpoint that ancestry to the Levant region.

"With this sample in hand, we can now say more about who these people were," said Skoglund.

The finding put one mystery to rest while raising another: Present-day people in the Horn of Africa have additional Near Eastern ancestry that can't be explained by the group to which the young girl belonged."

-------------------------------------

"The Malawi snapshots also helped identify a population that spanned from the southern tip of Africa all the way to the equator about 1,400 years ago before fading away. That mysterious group shared ancestry with today's Khoe-San (or Khoisan) people in southern Africa and left a few DNA traces in people from a group of islands thousands of miles away, off the coast of Tanzania."

Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-09-ancient-human-dna-sub-saharan-africa.html#jCp

 

[Grant]

This article has been posted several times, but I think this part of it has been missed. Khoisan ancestors got to southern Europe and the Levant.


https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn24988-humanitys-forgotten-return-to-africa-revealed-in-dna/

"Back to Africa – but from where?
Reich and his colleagues found that DNA sequences in the Khoisan people most closely resemble some found in people who today live in southern Europe. That, however, does not mean the migration back to Africa started in Italy or Spain. More likely, the migration began in what is now the Middle East.

We know that southern Europeans can trace their ancestry to the Middle East. However, in the thousands of years since they – and the ancestors of the Khoisan – left the region, it has experienced several waves of immigration. These waves have had a significant effect on the genes of people living in the Middle East today, and and means southern Europeans are much closer to the original inhabitants of the Levant than modern-day Middle Easterners."

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http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2014/01/29/1313787111

"The history of southern Africa involved interactions between indigenous hunter–gatherers and a range of populations that moved into the region. Here we use genome-wide genetic data to show that there are at least two admixture events in the history of Khoisan populations (southern African hunter–gatherers and pastoralists who speak non-Bantu languages with click consonants). One involved populations related to Niger–Congo-speaking African populations, and the other introduced ancestry most closely related to west Eurasian (European or Middle Eastern) populations. We date this latter admixture event to ∼900–1,800 y ago and show that it had the largest demographic impact in Khoisan populations that speak Khoe–Kwadi languages. A similar signal of west Eurasian ancestry is present throughout eastern Africa. In particular, we also find evidence for two admixture events in the history of Kenyan, Tanzanian, and Ethiopian populations, the earlier of which involved populations related to west Eurasians and which we date to ∼2,700–3,300 y ago. We reconstruct the allele frequencies of the putative west Eurasian population in eastern Africa and show that this population is a good proxy for the west Eurasian ancestry in southern Africa. The most parsimonious explanation for these findings is that west Eurasian ancestry entered southern Africa indirectly through eastern Africa."

 

[James Dahl]

These simplistic models only ever model one migration one way, but it's clear people were moving back and forth north and south and east and west all the time. The timeframe of millions of years is dozens of ice ages, it's impossible to know the ultimate origin of human beings earlier than the most recent ice age that only ended 10,000 years ago.

 

[DR OSMAN]

These simplistic models only ever model one migration one way, but it's clear people were moving back and forth north and south and east and west all the time. The timeframe of millions of years is dozens of ice ages, it's impossible to know the ultimate origin of human beings earlier than the most recent ice age that only ended 10,000 years ago.

Based on the fossils records it's pretty certain we came from Africa or else far older fossils would be found in other continents and they simply aren't. The other thing to add to the equation is, we didn't develop separately, there must always be some common point or singularity and from there we branched out into what we are today.

The funny thing is it's highly unlikely we all came from one man and woman, they would've had something precede it also, we must of been a small group or band is my bet and some lineages survived while others didn't. If we came from one man and woman, we would be having incest and that would be a killer to our survival. It makes sense I think we were apes and then proceded on a path towards humanity, it shows their is always something preceding before we became fully human. Kinda like a long rope and there is a clear mark when we start but those before us wouldn't of been massively different maybe had a tail or slightly smaller brain just minor difference and the futher back u go the differences become wider.

 

[James Dahl]

Human beings definitely lived in Africa for millions of years, but the story isn't a simple one and the is inconvenient evidence that doesn't neatly fit in the simple model. There's 7 million year old human teeth found in Bulgaria and Greece and the next oldest human remains are in Tchad at 7 million years.

The next 5 million years or so are lots of human remains found in Ethiopia and Kenya, but then starting 2 million years ago there are remains found all over the place again, China, South Africa, Tchad and Georgia in the Caucasus Mountains.

So it's complicated, and complicated more in that there aren't many finds really, we're trying to extrapolate this complex history of humanity from a few skeletons scattered over the world.

 

[Grant]

These simplistic models only ever model one migration one way, but it's clear people were moving back and forth north and south and east and west all the time. The timeframe of millions of years is dozens of ice ages, it's impossible to know the ultimate origin of human beings earlier than the most recent ice age that only ended 10,000 years ago.

James,

You are still in denial of the Khoisan. Dude in the first article is talking about the last 8,000 years. The second article is about individual populations and how Eurasian DNA entered the Khoisan population in South Africa at 900-1800 years ago. Please check the links and the complete articles. Khoe ancestors reached the Levant before returning to Africa.

 

[DR OSMAN]

Human beings definitely lived in Africa for millions of years, but the story isn't a simple one and the is inconvenient evidence that doesn't neatly fit in the simple model. There's 7 million year old human teeth found in Bulgaria and Greece and the next oldest human remains are in Tchad at 7 million years.

The next 5 million years or so are lots of human remains found in Ethiopia and Kenya, but then starting 2 million years ago there are remains found all over the place again, China, South Africa, Tchad and Georgia in the Caucasus Mountains.

So it's complicated, and complicated more in that there aren't many finds really, we're trying to extrapolate this complex history of humanity from a few skeletons scattered over the world.

It's very hard to believe humans got lucky 7 times over across 7 continents and developed into humanity family. That's not sellable to even the most gullible person!!! There must be a common origin point and then they dispersed is far logical and pleasing.

The amount of pre humans found in africa is remarkable and totally unavoidable, human family didnt drop from the sky, their is none of that found in china, europe and so forth not the amount of diversity in primates that's for sure.

Neaderthal and homo erectus were the only ones who left africa and another one in Indonesia Java man I think it's called. Where-as there is countless of homo family in africa, too hard to dismiss!!!!

 

[James Dahl]

It's very hard to believe humans got lucky 7 times over across 7 continents and developed into humanity family. That's not sellable to even the most gullible person!!! There must be a common origin point and then they dispersed is far logical and pleasing.

The amount of pre humans found in africa is remarkable and totally unavoidable, human family didnt drop from the sky, their is none of that found in china, europe and so forth not the amount of diversity in primates that's for sure.

Neaderthal and homo erectus were the only ones who left africa and another one in Indonesia Java man I think it's called. Where-as there is countless of homo family in africa, too hard to dismiss!!!!

Absolutely but at the same time I think we all need to avoid drawing overly simplistic conclusions. The book on the history of human origins is still being written and most of the pages haven't been written yet. We're nowhere close to being able to close the book on human origins and say definitive things.

 

[roble]

please what is the location of west Eurasia,is that both Europe and asia but not a specific place,,i often see that in Somali dna.

 

[Grant]

please what is the location of west Eurasia,is that both Europe and asia but not a specific place,,i often see that in Somali dna.

Wiki:

"Eurasia is the combined landmass of the continents of Europe and Asia in the northern part of the Earth. Eurasia is made of Europe and Asia, which are on the same tectonic plate and do not have a sea between them. The word is made by adding "Eur" (from Europe) to "Asia" to make "Eurasia".

Some geographers say it's all just one continent, because unlike the Americas or Africa, Europe and Asia are not divided by sea. The Ancient Greeks divided the world they knew into Europe, Asia and Africa. Since then, people have been talking about Asia and Europe as two continents so it is now a tradition.

Some other continents are not completely divided by sea and are joined together and by a thin strip of land (called an isthmus) like North America and South America. However, Europe and Asia are not divided by sea at all.

Sometimes Eurasia is divided into West Eurasia and East Eurasia. West Eurasia is Europe and the Middle East. Historians sometimes add North Africa to West Eurasia because the Sahara Desert divides North Africa from the other parts of Africa and it is as difficult to cross as a sea."

 

[roble]

Wiki:

"Eurasia is the combined landmass of the continents of Europe and Asia in the northern part of the Earth. Eurasia is made of Europe and Asia, which are on the same tectonic plate and do not have a sea between them. The word is made by adding "Eur" (from Europe) to "Asia" to make "Eurasia".

Some geographers say it's all just one continent, because unlike the Americas or Africa, Europe and Asia are not divided by sea. The Ancient Greeks divided the world they knew into Europe, Asia and Africa. Since then, people have been talking about Asia and Europe as two continents so it is now a tradition.

Some other continents are not completely divided by sea and are joined together and by a thin strip of land (called an isthmus) like North America and South America. However, Europe and Asia are not divided by sea at all.

Sometimes Eurasia is divided into West Eurasia and East Eurasia. West Eurasia is Europe and the Middle East. Historians sometimes add North Africa to West Eurasia because the Sahara Desert divides North Africa from the other parts of Africa and it is as difficult to cross as a sea."

thanks bro now know west eurasia is Europe and Mideast.atleast half of Somali dna concentrated there.

 

[Grant]

thanks bro now know west eurasia is Europe and Mideast.atleast half of Somali dna concentrated there.

Here's another juicy little article.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1182266/

The migration routes were bi-directional.

http://www.lulu.com/items/volume_67/8540000/8540374/1/print/8540374.pdf

"The analysis suggests the presence of haplogroup E1b1b1c1 in the peoples of western Asia Minor...These people are remarkable as the creators of the first civilizations of the world, and laid the foundations of social and cultural development of mankind."

https://www.eupedia.com/europe/Haplogroup_T_mtDNA.shtml

T1a was also present in the Levant.

https://www.eupedia.com/europe/Haplogroup_E1b1b_Y-DNA.shtml

Haplogroup E1b1b (formerly known as E3b) represents the last major direct migration from Africa into Europe. It is believed to have first appeared in the Horn of Africa approximately 26,000 years ago and dispersed to North Africa and the Near East during the late Paleolithic and Mesolithic periods. E-M78 and E-Z827 originated respectively at 20,000 years and 24,000 years. E1b1b lineages are closely linked to the diffusion of Afroasiatic languages.

Lazaridis et al. (2016) tested the first ancient DNA samples from the Mesolithic Natufian culture in Israel, possibly the world's oldest sedentary community, and found that the male individuals belonged either to haplogroups CT or E1b1 (including two E1b1b1b2 samples). These are to date the oldest known E1b1b individuals. The same haplogroups show up in Pre-Pottery Neolithic B Jordan, accompanied by new haplogroups (H2 and T). Besides, E1b1b was not found in Neolithic Iran or Anatolia, and only showed up twice among the hundreds of Neolithic European samples that have been tested. This evidence suggests that at the end of the last glaciation 12,000 years ago, E1b1b men were present in the Levant, but not in other parts of the Near East. There is evidence that the Natufians already cultivated cereals like rye before the Neolithic period. Cereal farming may therefore trace its roots (literally) to the E1b1b tribes of the Mesolithic Levant.

Marieke van de Loosdrecht et al. (2018) tested the DNA of seven 15,000-year-old modern humans from Taforalt Cave in northeastern Morocco, and all of the six males belonged to haplogroup E-M78. Autosomally they could be modelled as 2/3 Natufian and 1/3 Sub-Saharan African (West African), confirming the close genetic link between Late Paleolithic North Africans and Mesolithic South Levantines.

Nowadays, the highest genetic diversity of haplogroup E1b1b is observed in Northeast Africa, especially in Ethiopia and Somalia, which also have the monopoly of older and rarer branches like M281, V6 or V92. This suggests that E1b1b may indeed have appeared in East Africa, then expanded north until the Levant. Nevertheless, many lineages now found among the Ethiopians and Somalians appear to have come from the Fertile Crescent during the Neolithic period. This includes some E1b1b subclades like V22 (12,000 years old) and V32 (10,000 years old), but also undeniably Near Eastern lineages like T1a-CTS2214 and J1-L136.

 

[roble]

great information,will certainly come back to that but what you think of this video.

east Africans have 25% west Eurasian..and have seen some Somali dna returns upto 45% or more.

 

[roble]

or this.....very interesting.


https://mathildasanthropologyblog.wordpress.com/2008/07/30/somali-y-chromosome-study/

 

[Grant]

or this.....very interesting.


https://mathildasanthropologyblog.wordpress.com/2008/07/30/somali-y-chromosome-study/

The movement of E-M78 from the Sudan/Nubia to Somalia:

:The M78 mutation (y chromosome) that is present in East Africans occurred in North East Africa, not East Africa, and it occurred in a mixed Eurasian/African population.

This expansion was most likely from the Lower Nubia area, and might explain why Somalis show some similarities to the ancient upper Egyptians (Badarians); as their ancestry comes fromthe same region, and they are less influenced by later migrations from Arabia and west Africa. The hg’s involved ( M78/E3b1 and M1/M1a) are shown below, showing a clear focus and origin in Southern modern Egypt (Lower Nubia), expanding into Somalia."

Diagram; “Clines and Clusters Versus Race“, C. Loring Brace. Showing skull similarities in Somalians and predynastic upper Egyptians (lower Egyptians are much more like modern North Africans). The PD Upper Egyptians are just outside the range of modern North Africans, and Somalians show a fairly close relationship to them; unsurprisingly, as a fairly large portion of Somali ancestry seems to come from the Upper Egypt/Nubia area.

 

[roble]

[[[QUOTE....that is present in East Africans occurred in North East Africa, not East Africa, and it occurred in a mixed Eurasian/African population.



The PD Upper Egyptians are just outside the range of modern North Africans, and Somalians show a fairly close relationship to them; unsurprisingly, as a fairly large portion of Somali ancestry seems to come from the Upper Egypt/Nubia area.


This expansion was most likely from the Lower Nubia area, and might explain why Somalis show some similarities to the ancient upper Egyptians (Badarians); as their ancestry comes fromthe same region, and they are less influenced by later migrations from Arabia and west Africa. The hg’s involved ( M78/E3b1 and M1/M1a) are shown below, showing a clear focus and origin in Southern modern Egypt (Lower Nubia), expanding into Somalia."]]]]



you exactly right ,that's what I read here and there,our admix is largely up north contrary to what many believe is the east.also read we first reached the horn around the first century,,any idea how many different countries our kin get split.the otha thing is would like to ask is how our hair curly to straight unlike any other black mixes.how come we don't have the strong broad African features that otha biracials usually retain. Looks like we separate race within the black world...your thoughts.

 

[Grant]

[[[QUOTE....that is present in East Africans occurred in North East Africa, not East Africa, and it occurred in a mixed Eurasian/African population.



The PD Upper Egyptians are just outside the range of modern North Africans, and Somalians show a fairly close relationship to them; unsurprisingly, as a fairly large portion of Somali ancestry seems to come from the Upper Egypt/Nubia area.


This expansion was most likely from the Lower Nubia area, and might explain why Somalis show some similarities to the ancient upper Egyptians (Badarians); as their ancestry comes fromthe same region, and they are less influenced by later migrations from Arabia and west Africa. The hg’s involved ( M78/E3b1 and M1/M1a) are shown below, showing a clear focus and origin in Southern modern Egypt (Lower Nubia), expanding into Somalia."]]]]



you exactly right ,that's what I read here and there,our admix is largely up north contrary to what many believe is the east.also read we first reached the horn around the first century,,any idea how many different countries our kin get split.the otha thing is would like to ask is how our hair curly to straight unlike any other black mixes.how come we don't have the strong broad African features that otha biracials usually retain. Looks like we separate race within the black world...your thoughts.

As I read this and a couple other pieces, E1b1b (which is downstream from the Natufians), V32, V22, T and J mixed in the Levant, producing both agriculture and pastoralism. About 8,000 YA waves of migration left this mix for both Europe and Africa, taking agriculture and pastoralism with them.

I am 100% European, 93% northwestern European, and my ancestors were part of that 8000 YA migration. I am E-L29 = E1b1b1c1a = E-M84.

My futo is the color of Caano liis and my hair is soft, fine, and light brown. You have many of the same genes, but your people went back south to Africa.

 

[roble]

thanks Grant am amteur in this subject and it was quite eye opening. thought you were Somali ,burst into laughter with those Somali words.
thanks again.would certainly looking forward with some more.