Here we present new genome-wide aDNA data and radiocarbon dates from three Late Pleistocene and three early to middle Holocene individuals associated with LSA technologies at five sites in eastern and south-central Africa: Kisese II and Mlambalasi Rockshelters in Tanzania, Fingira and Hora 1 Rockshelters in Malawi, and Kalemba Rockshelter in Zambia (Fig. 1a and Extended Data Table 1). Direct and indirect dates range from around 18 ka to 5 ka, doubling the time depth of aDNA reported from sub-Saharan Africa.
Abstract Multiple lines of genetic and archaeological evidence suggest that there were major demographic changes in the terminal Late Pleistocene epoch and early Holocene epoch of sub-Saharan Africa1,2,3,4. Inferences about this period are challenging to make because demographic shifts in the past 5,000 years have obscured the structures of more ancient populations3,5. Here we present genome-wide ancient DNA data for six individuals from eastern and south-central Africa spanning the past approximately 18,000 years (doubling the time depth of sub-Saharan African ancient DNA), increase the data quality for 15 previously published ancient individuals and analyze these alongside data from 13 other published ancient individuals. The ancestry of the individuals in our study area can be modelled as a geographically structured mixture of three highly divergent source populations, probably reflecting Pleistocene interactions around 80–20 thousand years ago, including deeply diverged eastern and southern African lineages, plus a previously unappreciated ubiquitous distribution of ancestry that occurs in highest proportion today in central African rainforest hunter-gatherers. Once established, this structure remained highly stable, with limited long-range gene flow. These results provide a new line of genetic evidence in support of hypotheses that have emerged from archaeological analyses but remain contested, suggesting increasing regionalization at the end of the Pleistocene epoch.
Uniparental markers All four newly reported males are similar to most published ancient foragers from this region of Africa in carrying the widely distributed Y chromosome haplogroup B2 (Extended Data Table 1). Among the 23 individuals in our dataset with known mtDNA haplogroups, up to 14—almost all from Kenya and Tanzania—have haplogroups that are today associated with eastern Africa (Extended Data Table 1 and Supplementary Table 6). Eight individuals—all from Malawi and Zambia—have haplogroups that are associated with some ancient and present-day southern African people, specifically groups for whom foraging is the main mode of subsistence17,18,19,20.
Two individuals from Malawi (I19529 from Hora 1, dating to about 16 ka and carrying L5b, and I4426 from Fingira, dating to about 2.3 ka and carrying L0f/L0f3) have eastern-Africa-associated haplogroups, whereas a different individual from Malawi (I2967 from Hora 1, dating to about 8.2 ka with L0a2/L0a2b) and possibly one from Kenya (I8930 from White Rock Point with L2a4) belong to lineages that are characteristic of present-day central African foragers (such as Mbuti and Aka). These results show that eastern and south-central Africa was home to, and an area of interaction among, diverse ancient foraging groups, and also that several of these haplogroup lineages were formerly more widespread than they are today.
Ancient DNA helps reveal social changes in Africa 50,000 years ago that shaped the human storyPosts: 42918 | From: , | Registered: Jan 2010
| IP: Logged |
On the move: Ancient DNA illuminates early Stone Age social networks
The researchers analyzed the DNA of 34 ancient individuals to discern the ancestral relationships of people who lived throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Their analysis included new DNA from six individuals who lived between 5,000 and 18,000 years ago from five sites in eastern and south-central Africa. The three oldest skeletons — two excavated in Malawi and one in Tanzania — date from between 14,000 and 18,000 years old, accounting for the earliest human DNA recovered in Africa. Additionally, the researchers analyzed DNA from 28 previously studied ancient Africans, including newly enhanced genetic data from 15 of those individuals.
The discovery of high amounts of Central African ancestry in individuals from eastern and southern Africa was a key finding, said Mary Prendergast, associate professor of anthropology at Rice University and a senior author of the study.
“Clearly a lot of people were moving from what are Central African rain forests today to places south and east, which surprised us,” said Prendergast. “It suggests to archaeologists that we should focus more attention on Central Africa, which has been understudied due to limited funding, geographic challenges, and geopolitical instability.”
The researchers estimate that the period of demographic shifting began as far back as 80,000 years ago and lasted until about 20,000 years ago, when the amount of movement and mixing between populations declined, and people began living locally. “It’s possible that at this point people had established networks and could move technology and information without finding reproductive partners elsewhere,” said Elizabeth Sawchuk, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Alberta, Canada, who helped lead the study. “Their social networks persisted, and objects continued to move along them until about 5,000 years ago when that ancient structure was overwritten by more recent demographic change.”
Posts: 42918 | From: , | Registered: Jan 2010
| IP: Logged |
posted
@thelioness members on this site care more about north africa
Posts: 1779 | From: Somewhere In the Rif Mountains | Registered: Nov 2021
| IP: Logged |
posted
People are interested I just posted this. The site is called Egyptsearch, naturally, that is in North Africa
Posts: 42918 | From: , | Registered: Jan 2010
| IP: Logged |
posted
Among others some reasons why response to these african aDNA studies are slow is because of how relatively barebones they are. It's very difficult to contextualize studies like this. As far as an average reader can tell these newly reported genomes don't give much resolution on their own history whether your African or not. However I will say that these samples could potentially be quite important, so long as we use them as the building blocks for modern populations and not the other way around.
Posts: 1781 | From: New York | Registered: Jul 2016
| IP: Logged |
posted
Would be interested in seeing the physical remains of those late Pleistocene people whose ancestry most closely resembled that of modern Central African foragers. Were they relatively short-statured too, or would they have been taller outside the rainforests?
posted
I retitled this thread, I had overlooked this being notable as the oldest DNA found in Africa thus far (added to OP, Uniparental section added with bolded and locations map)
All four newly reported males are similar to most published ancient foragers from this region of Africa in carrying the widely distributed Y chromosome haplogroup B2
Two individuals from Malawi (I19529 from Hora 1, dating to about 16 ka and carrying L5b, and I4426 from Fingira, dating to about 2.3 ka and carrying L0f/L0f3) have eastern-Africa-associated haplogroups, whereas a different individual from Malawi (I2967 from Hora 1, dating to about 8.2 ka with L0a2/L0a2b) and possibly one from Kenya (I8930 from White Rock Point with L2a4)
_____________________________
another article states:
When Sawchuk found the skull, they could only identify the age of the bones by carbon dating ostrich eggshell beads buried alongside the remains.
It wasn't until 2015, when technology allowed scientists to extract genetic material of remains found in such hot and humid environments.
"It kind of was a game changer," Sawchuk said.
She and her colleagues decided in 2017 to go back and study DNA of 34 skeletons including the one in Tanzania.
posted
What everyone really wants to know is the DNA lineages associated with OOA and what Lineages were present in Africa versus what lineages originated in Eurasia. And this obviously is relevant to why they keep mentioning "Sub Saharan" Africa as if that is separate from the rest of Africa due to the so-called genetic split between L lineages and all other down stream lineages as being African vs Eurasian.
Posts: 8889 | Registered: May 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
Since this isn't about the Nile Valley, North East or Northwest Africa this topic gets not attention
Posts: 2595 | From: Vicksburg | Registered: Feb 2006
| IP: Logged |
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic