Posted on 05/15/2008 12:49:19 PM PDT by decimon
TAU mathematician finds humanity was genetically divided for as much as 100,000 years
he human race was divided into two separate groups within Africa for as much as half of its existence, says a Tel Aviv University mathematician. Climate change, reduction in populations and harsh conditions may have caused and maintained the separation.
Dr. Saharon Rosset, from the School of Mathematical Sciences at Tel Aviv University, worked with team leader Doron Behar from the Rambam Medical Center to analyze African DNA. Their goal was to study obscure population patterns from hundreds of thousands of years ago.
Rosset, who crunched numbers and did the essential statistical analysis for the National Geographic Society's Genographic Project, said the team was trying to understand the timing and dynamics of the split into at least two separate groups.
“We wanted to look into the ancient history of our species. How did we live throughout most of our existence as a species? Did we live as one — or were we fractured into small groups? Until now, it wasn’t really clear,” says Rosset.
A Picture of the Ancient Past
Researchers believe that about 60,000 years ago, modern humans started their epic journeys to populate the world. This time period has been the primary focus of anthropological genetic research. However, relatively little is known about the demographic history of our species over the previous 140,000 years in Africa.
The current study returns the focus to Africa and thereby refines the understanding of early modern Homo sapiens history.
Rosset, who is also affiliated with IBM’s T.J. Watson Research Center in New York, says the study provides insight into the early demographic history of human populations before they moved out of Africa. “These early human populations were small and isolated from each other for many tens of thousands of years,” says Rosset.
The team’s research was based on a survey of African mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and is the most extensive survey of its kind. It included over 600 complete mtDNA genomes from indigenous populations across the continent.
How Old Was “Mitochondrial Eve”?
MtDNA, inherited down the maternal line, was used in 1987 to discover the age of the famous “Mitochondrial Eve,” the most recent common female ancestor of everyone alive today. This work has since been extended to show unequivocally that “Mitochondrial Eve” was an African woman who lived sometime during the past 200,000 years.
Recent data suggests that Eastern Africa went through a series of massive droughts between 90,000 and 135,000 years ago. It is possible that this climate shift contributed to the population splits. What is surprising is the length of time the populations were separate — for as much as half of our entire history as a species.
Dr. Spencer Wells, director of the Genographic Project and Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society, said, "This new study illustrates the extraordinary power of genetics to reveal insights into some of the key events in our species' history. Tiny bands of early humans, forced apart by harsh environmental conditions, coming back from the brink to reunite and populate the world. Truly an epic drama, written in our DNA."
Adds Rosset, “Israelis and Jews are always curious about looking into their roots. Just in this study, we were digging deeper than we normally do.”
Photo: Dr. Saharon Rosset
Dichotomy ping.
Adds Rosset, “Israelis and Jews are always curious about looking into their roots. Just in this study, we were digging deeper than we normally do.”
Nice touch.
Roots? He may have meant his hair follicles.
So we are all “African-Americans”,”African-Asians”, etc.?
Does this mean that if osama hussein obama gets elected POTUS the rest of the country gets inundated with many variations on “Roots”?
I want reparations.
No doubt, it was the group that rode around on Mammoths and carried assault clubs that caused the climate change. Meanwhile, the group that rode pygmy horses, and gathered rose buds suffered the most.
So the root difference is that there are two main branches. One was in Africa spawned all the others, the other exists only in Africa.
Anyone know which areas of Africa correspond to which branch?
The branch that moved into the rest of the world has the least genetic diversity, but populated the rest of the planet.
I think the northern group was smaller, got lighter skinned and more Asian in facial structure (like Kung! bushmen today). Weather cooled off, some of northern group moved south and intermingled as others moved along the Red Sea coast to India and Australia and others moved north into Asia.
About a fifth of the human gene pool belongs largely either to Indo-European or Dravidic speaking people inhabiting the Indian peninsula. The 'Caucasoid share' in their gene pool is thought to be related predominantly to the Indo-European speakers. A commonly held hypothesis, albeit not the only one, suggests a massive Indo-Aryan invasion to India some 4,000 years ago [1]. Recent limited analysis of maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of Indian populations has been interpreted as supporting this concept [2] [3]. Here, this interpretation is questioned. We found an extensive deep late Pleistocene genetic link between contemporary Europeans and Indians, provided by the mtDNA haplogroup U, which encompasses roughly a fifth of mtDNA lineages of both populations. Our estimate for this split is close to the suggested time for the peopling of Asia and the first expansion of anatomically modern humans in Eurasia [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] and likely pre-dates their spread to Europe. Only a small fraction of the 'Caucasoid-specific' mtDNA lineages found in Indian populations can be ascribed to a relatively recent admixture.
PMID: 10574762 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10574762
Full PDF File:
http://jorde-lab.genetics.utah.edu/elibrary/Kivisild_1999.pdf
Cheddar Man was haplogroup U5a as was my dad's Scottish mother. Many of the Laplanders (Sa'ami) are haplogroup U5b.
The Genographic Project (Have Your DNA Checked, Find Your Roots)
Ah, interesting!
I’ve come across most of your posts and articles, including the one about the Cheddar Man. I hadn’t seen the mention of the haplogroup U in that article, though.
PING for later.
hey, and why not this...The Scars of Evolution:"The most remarkable aspect of Todaro's discovery emerged when he examined Homo Sapiens for the 'baboon marker'. It was not there... Todaro drew one firm conclusion. 'The ancestors of man did not develop in a geographical area where they would have been in contact with the baboon. I would argue that the data we are presenting imply a non-African origin of man millions of years ago.'"
What Our Bodies Tell Us
About Human Origins
by Elaine Morgan
The Neandertal EnigmaFrayer's own reading of the record reveals a number of overlooked traits that clearly and specifically link the Neandertals to the Cro-Magnons. One such trait is the shape of the opening of the nerve canal in the lower jaw, a spot where dentists often give a pain-blocking injection. In many Neandertal, the upper portion of the opening is covered by a broad bony ridge, a curious feature also carried by a significant number of Cro-Magnons. But none of the alleged 'ancestors of us all' fossils from Africa have it, and it is extremely rare in modern people outside Europe." [pp 126-127]
by James Shreeve
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Thanks decimon. |
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Years back someone or another postulated that humanity had gotten it's start out of the trees when the Great Rift Valley opened.
This cut the ones on the east off from the rest of Africa. They were now down wind of the rift, the fumes and the changes in topography stripped moisture out of the prevailing winds. This created an orological desert in what had one been a lush environment and forced humanity to grow up.
Imaging what this looked like. From their hell on earth, they could see the greenery across the rift, remembered when they lived in similar abundance, and know that they were now literally cut of from it by a valley filled with fountains of lava.
They must have sinned, and a vengeful God punished them by throwing them out of the garden of Eden and set His angels to guard the entrance with swords of flame.
See
Genesis 3:24
So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
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