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The formation of human populations in South and Central Asia

Narasimhan, VM; Patterson, N; Moorjani, P; Rohland, N; Bernardos, R; Mallick, S; Lazaridis, L; ... Reich, D; + view all (2019) The formation of human populations in South and Central Asia. Science , 365 (6457) , Article 999. 10.1126/science.aat7487. Green open access

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Abstract

By sequencing 523 ancient humans, we show that the primary source of ancestry in modern South Asians is a prehistoric genetic gradient between people related to early hunter-gatherers of Iran and Southeast Asia. After the Indus Valley Civilization’s decline, its people mixed with individuals in the southeast to form one of the two main ancestral populations of South Asia, whose direct descendants live in southern India. Simultaneously, they mixed with descendants of Steppe pastoralists who, starting around 4000 years ago, spread via Central Asia to form the other main ancestral population. The Steppe ancestry in South Asia has the same profile as that in Bronze Age Eastern Europe, tracking a movement of people that affected both regions and that likely spread the distinctive features shared between Indo-Iranian and Balto-Slavic languages.

Type: Article
Title: The formation of human populations in South and Central Asia
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1126/science.aat7487
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aat7487
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Institute of Archaeology
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Institute of Archaeology > Institute of Archaeology Gordon Square
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10083621
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