Delineating genetic ancestries of people of the Indus valley, Parsis, Indian jews and Tharu tribe
Date
2021-05-10
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Käesolev on viies Tartu Ülikoolis valminud väitekiri Lõuna-Aasia rahvaste geneetilisest ajaloost. Asustatud kaasaegse inimese poolt märksa enne viimase jääaja maksimumi, elab tänapäeval selles regioonis üle 1.8 miljardi inimese – pea veerand inimkonnast. Seega ei ole võimalik süvitsi mõista kaasaegse inimese geneetise varieeruvuse kujunemist, sh eriti väljapool Sahara-alust Aafrikat, omamata detailsemat teadmist Lõuna-Aasia rahvaste geneetikast
Väitekiri põhineb neljal ilmunud artiklil. Neist esimeses uurisime Kirde-Indiat asustavaid rahvaid seoses võimaliku pärinevusega Induse oru kultuurist ja järgnenud vedade ajastust. Teine ja kolmas artikkel on pühendatud migratsioonidele, mis tõid Indiasse religioosses mõttes uusi rahvagruppe: parsid Iraanist alates 7. sajandi lõpupoolelt ja juudid, kelle saabumine Indiasse on toimunud mitme lainena. Neljandas artiklis on vaatluse all Nepaalis, kuid ka India põhjapoolsetes osariikides elutsev rahvarohke tharu hõim.
Esimes artikli huvitavamaks leiuks on usutavasti juba vedade ajastust tuntud Rori populatsiooni genoomis väljenduv suurem geneetiline afiinsus põhjapoolse stepivööndi rahvastega, samuti ka lääne-eurooplastega, mis räägib põhja-lõunasuunalistest migratsiooni(de)st eelajaloolisel ajal.
Parside saabumist Lõuna-Aasiasse seostatakse Iraani islamiseerumisega 7. sajandil. Võrreldes parside genoome nende ajaloolises kontekstis leidsime ulatusliku segunemise Lõuna-Aasia rahvastega, sealjuures asümeetriliselt isa ja emaliinides. Sama saab väita ka Indias judaistliku traditsiooni elemente säilitanud erinevate kogukondade kohta, kelle genoomis on siiski selgelt säilunud Lähis- ja Kesk-Ida pärandit.
Puudutavalt aga geneetiliselt ulatuslikult varieeruvat tharu hõimu, kelle hulgas on selgesti eristatav ka Ida-Aasia komponent, segunenuna Lõuna-Aasia pärandiga, paistab õigustatud olevat neid vaadelda esmajoones mitte sedavõrd deemilise, kuivõrd just kultuurilise konstruktsioonina.
Presented hereby is the 5th in a series of PhD theses prepared in Tartu University, addressing genetics of population history of the South Asian peoples. Inhabited considerably before the Last Glacial Maximum, the region harbors by now about 1.8 billion humans – almost a quarter of the global population. Therefore, understanding of present-day variation of the latter, in particular outside sub-Saharan Africa, is not possible without deeper knowledge about genetics of South Asian populations. This thesis is based on four published papers. The first one is focused on selected populations inhabiting northeastern Indus Valley, bearing, in particular, in mind ancient Indus Valley civilization and following it Vedic period. The second and the third paper address historically somewhat better known migrations, bringing to India religiously distinct Parsi and Jewish peoples. The fourth paper analyses the genetic variation of a populous Tharu tribe, living predominantly in Nepal, but also in northern provinces of India. Perhaps the most interesting finding of the first paper is that the presumably identified already in Vedic texts, Ror population exhibits significant genetic affinity with northern Steppe and West European peoples, testifying about prehistoric north to south migration(s). The arrival of Parsis to South Asia in 7th century was a consequence of the Islamization of Iran. Comparing Parsi genomes in their historic contexts, we observed their extensive admixture with South Asians, in particular, asymmetrically in paternal and maternal lineages. Nearly the same can be said about different Indian communities that preserved Judaist traditions: their genomes show affinities to peoples living in the Near and Middle East. As far as the genetically highly diverse Tharu tribe is concerned, a clearly distinct East Asian contribution can be seen, admixed with South Asian genetic heritage. It seems justified to identify the Tharu as cultural, rather than demic phenomenon.
Presented hereby is the 5th in a series of PhD theses prepared in Tartu University, addressing genetics of population history of the South Asian peoples. Inhabited considerably before the Last Glacial Maximum, the region harbors by now about 1.8 billion humans – almost a quarter of the global population. Therefore, understanding of present-day variation of the latter, in particular outside sub-Saharan Africa, is not possible without deeper knowledge about genetics of South Asian populations. This thesis is based on four published papers. The first one is focused on selected populations inhabiting northeastern Indus Valley, bearing, in particular, in mind ancient Indus Valley civilization and following it Vedic period. The second and the third paper address historically somewhat better known migrations, bringing to India religiously distinct Parsi and Jewish peoples. The fourth paper analyses the genetic variation of a populous Tharu tribe, living predominantly in Nepal, but also in northern provinces of India. Perhaps the most interesting finding of the first paper is that the presumably identified already in Vedic texts, Ror population exhibits significant genetic affinity with northern Steppe and West European peoples, testifying about prehistoric north to south migration(s). The arrival of Parsis to South Asia in 7th century was a consequence of the Islamization of Iran. Comparing Parsi genomes in their historic contexts, we observed their extensive admixture with South Asians, in particular, asymmetrically in paternal and maternal lineages. Nearly the same can be said about different Indian communities that preserved Judaist traditions: their genomes show affinities to peoples living in the Near and Middle East. As far as the genetically highly diverse Tharu tribe is concerned, a clearly distinct East Asian contribution can be seen, admixed with South Asian genetic heritage. It seems justified to identify the Tharu as cultural, rather than demic phenomenon.
Description
Väitekirja elektrooniline versioon ei sisalda publikatsioone
Keywords
population genetics, Indus Valley Civilization, genetic variability, Jews, demographic processes, population dynamics, South Asia, India