Old DNA reveals new clues about the genetic history of Southeast Asia



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Scientists have disagreed about the true origins of modern populations in Southeast Asia for more than a century.

A new DNA analysis on 8,000-year-old skeletal genetic material could finally end the debate. the results are correct, it means that neither of the two main theories were entirely accurate.

According to a new study, the genetic diversity of Southeast Asia dates back thousands of years to the mixture of early Hòabìnhian hunter-gatherers and waves of migrants from three distinct cultures

The international study, published in the journal Science, suggests that the modern population has links to at least four older populations.

It has already been suggested that the Hunangian hunter-gatherers, This group, which populated Southeast Asia about 44,000 years ago, did not mingle with the first farmers of Asia from the East.

Instead, it was thought that they had developed their n agricultural traditions

The second dominant theory, the "two-layer model," proposed to migrating rice farmers to replace what is now China and replace the aboriginal group.

But according to the new study, the truth is

"The evidence described here favors a complex model including a demographic transition in which the original Hòabìnhiens mixed multiple waves of East Asian migration associated with Austro-Asian speakers. , kradais and Austronesians, "the researchers write. The researchers collected DNA from a total of 26 ancient individuals, and compared them with groups living in Southeast Asia today.

Skeletal remains included individuals from Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Laos, and Japan

Previously, scientists had only successfully sequenced the 4,000 sample genomes years of the region; the heat and humidity of Southeast Asia pose a difficult challenge for the preservation of DNA

The new group dates back to 8,000 years

The analysis revealed, for the first time, a connection between the Hunan-hunter-gatherers and the Jomon, of Japan

"We have made great efforts to recover from the ancient DNA of Asia of Southeast tropical that could shed new light on this rich human genetics, "said Professor Eske Willerslev of St John's College. The University of Cambridge and the University of Copenhagen

"The fact that we were able to obtain 26 human genomes and shed light on the incredible genetic wealth of groups in the region today. It's amazing. "

researchers, the new discoveries paint a much more complex picture of the population of Southeast Asia.

The region is one of the most genetically diverse in the world and can now be linked to at least four ancient populations

. We have shown that neither of the two interpretations correspond to the complexity of the history of Southeast Asia, "says Hugh McColl, PhD student at the Center for GeoGenetics of the History Museum. Denmark.

"Hunan-hunter-gatherers and East Asian farmers have contributed to the current diversity of Southeast Asia, with other migrations affecting the islands. from Southeast Asia and Vietnam

. permanent controversies in the prehistory of Southeast Asia. "

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