Horn of Africa Genetics! ❌

It's coming, sometimes you will see a disordered post like this, but it just means I am editing :) all will be summarized and expanded upon as per usual

List of Ancient DNA Findings:

🔴Mota Cave (~4,500 KYA) (🧬N=1)
Mota individual discovered in 2015, showed no traces of European or Asian DNA. He shared closest genetic affinity with Omotic speakers, in particular the Ari. He belonged to Y-Chromosomal haplogroup E-P2, and mitochondrial haplogroup L3x2a. The original report of this Ethiopian genome had originally overestimated the genetic influence of the Eurasian backflow, claiming that signs of the migration could be found in genomes all over Africa. This mistaken claim was based on a data-processing error and was corrected the following year in February 2016. The West Asian admixture was only predominant in the populations of the Horn of Africa, in particular Ethiopian highlanders, and less relevant or entierly absent in the genetic makeup of West and Central Africans which the original claim said these population were similarly admixed, which was false. The Mota genomes themselves as expected, failed to find any West Eurasian components.
🔗First ancient African genome reveals vast Eurasian migration | Nature
🔗Ancient Ethiopian genome reveals extensive Eurasian admixture in Eastern Africa | Science
Ancient Ethiopian man's genome illuminates ancestry of Africans | Reuters
🔗Error found in study of first ancient African genome | Nature
The people migrating back to Africa were closely related to the Neolithic Farmers who had brought agriculture from the Near East to Europe. This population is also closely related to present-day Sardinians, although studies have made distinctions between the population that brought farming into Europe, and the Levantine related groups that spread southward into East Africa. A study from 2016 for instance, which sampled ancient remains in the Levant, discovered that a Natufian or PPNB source fits much better than an Anatolian Neolithic derived component. "...our analysis shows that East African ancestry is significantly better modelled by Levantine early farmers than by Anatolian or early European farmers, implying that the spread of this ancestry to East Africa was not from the same group that spread Near Eastern ancestry into Europe." 

🔗Ancient genome from Africa sequenced for the first time – Popular Archeology (popular-archaeology.com)
🔗Genomic insights into the origin of farming in the ancient Near East - PMC (nih.gov)
🔗Genomic insights into the origin of farming in the ancient Near East (harvard.edu)

🔴Savannah Pastoral Neolithic (~5,000 KYA) (🧬N=42)
In 2017 the genome of an ancient Tanzania pastoralist was sequenced, around 38.5% of its genome was derived from Levant PPNB sources, and the other was Dinka and Mota-like. The authors propose it is likely a migration of descendants from the Levant contributed to the peopling of Eastern Africa, or it is also possible that both the PPN populations and the Luxmanda individual, both share ancestry from a Western Eurasian population that lived in North Africa or the Middle-East. The Luxmanda individual did not show the Iranian-like ancestry that is present in contemporary Horn of Africans. The Iranian Neolithic ancestry is considered to have entered the region after the initial geneflow from the Levant. In 2019, recent genetic analysis of ancient remains has proven that the population of the Savanna Pastoral Neolithic were also responsible for the pastoralist Elmentaitan culture that lived in the Rift Valley during the same period, and cultural complex of Luxmanda in Tanzania. These people had ancestry from the Near-East, and what is now Sudan. Genome-wide sampling of PN individuals revealed two phases of admixture associated with the spread of pastoralism. The initial one being ~6,000 years ago in Northeast Africa, and the second 4,000 years ago between the admixed EPN groups and Eastern African foragers (Mota).  
🔗Reconstructing Prehistoric African Population Structure: Cell
🔗Ancient DNA reveals a multistep spread of the first herders into sub-Saharan Africa | Science
🔗Study raises questions about roots of lactose tolerance in Africa | Science | AAAS
Finally, to study later transformations, we built models using PN as one proxy source and either Dinka (Sudan-related), Mota (forager-related), or Lemande (western African-related) as the other. We obtain improved fits for the Iron Age individuals and for present-day Kenyan Nilotic- and Bantu-speaking groups in this framework: the PIA cluster can be fitted as a mixture of ~57% PN-related and ~43% Sudan-related ancestry, while the Deloraine Farm individual can be modeled as a mixture of ~29% PN-related and ~71% western African- related ancestry (Fig. 3). Similar models also yield good fits for present-day Maasai (~47% PN-related and ~53% Sudan-related) and Kikuyu (~40% PN-related and ~60% western African-related), while Luhya can be fit as a mixture of Sudan-related (~41%) and western African-related (~59%) ancestry ( Fig. 3).

Other Findings!
A study from 2020 inferred two sources for the spread of Eurasian admixture in Northeastern Africa, with one associated with pastoralism. The initial phase involved groups originating from the Levant and North Africa that gave rise to the Pastoral Neolithic.
🔗https://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1456257/FULLTEXT01.pdf
🔗African population history: an ancient DNA perspective - ScienceDirect


Wang, Ke et al (2020) found that: "During the Pastoral Neolithic (PN), people related to Chalcolithic and Bronze Age Levantine groups entered eastern Africa and mixed there with individuals related to Later Stone Age foragers and with individuals related to present-day Dinka in what was proposed to have been at least a two-step process (4). Ancestry re- lated to present-day Bantu speakers, which is, today, prevalent across sub-Saharan Africa, is absent from most ancient sub-Saharan African genomes analyzed to date."
In 2023, a review of the findings of admixture in African populations found a direct link between Afro-Asiatic–speaking eastern African and southern African pastoralists has been established by showing that a 1,200-year-old individual from southern Africa, who has genetic similarities with modern Khoekhoe-speaking pastoralist groups, traces ∼40% of their ancestry to a Eurasian admixed group related to a 3,100-year-old pastoralist individual from Luxmanda, Tanzania. Thus, this study indicates that admixture of Khoe-San groups with eastern African pastoralists occurred at least ∼1.2 kya. Concordantly, another study estimated that all modern Khoe-San populations received 9–30% gene flow from an admixed East African/Eurasian pastoralist group 1.5–1.3 kya. Furthermore, east African pastoralist contributions to Khoe-San groups are lower on X chromosomes than autosomes (Vicente et al. 2021), indicating that male-biased admixture occurred. Overall, these results suggest that eastern African pastoralists reached southern Africa prior to and independently of Bantu-speaking groups.
Using the previously reported Ancient DNA, the study also found that the pastoralists were found to be an admixed population, formed by an intermixture between contemporary Nilo-Saharan speakers (e.g., the Dinka or Nuer) and a population related to modern groups from northern Africa or the Levant.
🔗Evolutionary Genetics and Admixture in African Populations | Genome Biology and Evolution | Oxford Academic (oup.com)
Figure A Showing Movement of Pastoralists into Southern Africa
Contemporary DNA Studies:
Y-Chromosome Data
Sanchez, Juan J et al. (2005), found that the predominant E3b1 (80%) cluster was introduced into the Somali population around 5,000 years ago from Northern Africa, and approximately 15% of Somali Y-Chromosomes are from Eurasia, and 5% Sub-Saharan Africa.
🔗High frequencies of Y chromosome lineages characterized by E3b1, DYS19-11, DYS392-12 in Somali males - PubMed (nih.gov)

Mitochondrial Data
In 2004
🔗Ethiopian Mitochondrial DNA Heritage: Tracking Gene Flow Across and Around the Gate of Tears - PMC (nih.gov)

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1046/J.1469-1809.2005.00152.x


https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002929707635071

Autosomal Data
In 2009, Sarah Tishkoff published on of the earliest studies dealing with the ancestral composition of African groups.
*Note: The Dogon in the study were inbred, and results and clustering inaccurate. Subsequent data has shown the Dogon are similar to their West African neighbours. 
🔗The Genetic Structure and History of Africans and African Americans | Science


🔗Africa in 12 ADMIXTURE chunks | Discover Magazine
🔗The genetic affinities of Ethiopians | Discover Magazine

A genomic sketch of the Horn of Africa | Discover Magazine
In 2011, using data from Tischoff et al (2009)
🔗Complex Genetic History of East African Human Populations (umd.edu)
IN 2011, Razib
https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/a-genomic-sketch-of-the-horn-of-africa
According to Pagani, Luca et al. (2012), a non-African component of Western Eurasian origins, is estimated to have entered the Horn of Africa roughly ~3,000 years ago, and was found to be similar to contemporary populations of the Levant. The paper goes on to say that this coincides with the introduction of Ethio-Semitic languages into the region, as well as the legends of Makeda and Kebra Negast. In this paper's auDNA analysis, the Egyptians were shown to have 80% of their ancestry derived from non-Africans, while in the Ethiopians, it ranged from 40-50% for the West Asian influence. On the other hand, Omotic and Nilotic Ethiopian communities showed very little, or no influence from non-Africans. Analysis of Ethiopians showed that their African component (50-60%) was equally split between the two Eastern African ancestries, and in the Egyptian Afro-Asiatic population most of their African component was similarly East African (20%). In contrast, the Northwest Africans (Moroccans, Mozabite) populations, have their African component resembling West African sources. Furthermore, the European (Anatolian/Caucasus) variant SLC24A5 which is one of the most highly differentiated genes between African and European populations and influences skin colour was found in various frequencies in all populations with Western Eurasian ancestry, the researches noted: "This putative migration from the Levant to Ethiopia, which is also supported by linguistic evidence, may have carried the derived western Eurasian allele of SLC24A5, which is associated with light skin pigmentation. Although potentially disadvantageous due to the high intensity of UV radiation in the area, the SLC24A5 allele has maintained a substantial frequency in the Semitic-Cushitic populations."
🔗Ethiopian genetic diversity reveals linguistic stratification and complex influences on the Ethiopian gene pool - PubMed (nih.gov)

🔗Anthromadness: Just how "African" & "West Eurasian" are Horn Africans like Somalis and Tigrinyas?
In 2016
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/038406v2.full.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4876373/

In 2018, according to David Reich there was evidence of intense contact and migration between Ethiopia and southern Arabia around 3,000 years BP. This event overlaps with the timing of Eurasian genetic admixture signals in Ethiopian populations and is a good candidate for the source of Eurasian admixture in East Africa. "There is significant archaeological evidence of intense contact and migration between Ethiopia and southern Arabia around 3,000 years BP. During the first millennium BC, southern Arabians from the Saba territory established a polity in the Abyssinian highlands of Ethiopia, and a new conglomerate cultural landscape called the Ethio-Sabean society emerged. This event overlaps with the timing of Eurasian genetic admixture signals in Ethiopian populations and is a good candidate for the source of Eurasian admixture in East Africa."
🔗Who We are and how We Got Here: Ancient DNA and the New Science of the Human ... - David Reich (Of Harvard Medical School) - Google Books
Molinaro, Ludovica et al in 2019 characterized the Non-African ancestry in Ethiopians as being derived from Anatolia Neolithic groups (similar to Tunisian Jews).
🔗West Asian sources of the Eurasian component in Ethiopians: a reassessment - PMC (nih.gov)
Kumar, H R S et al. (2020), showed that Tigray samples from Northern Ethiopia had (~50%) of a genetic component shared with Europeans and Middle Eastern Populations.
Characterization of ancestry informative markers in the Tigray population of Ethiopia: A contribution to the identification process of dead migrants in the Mediterranean Sea - Forensic Science International: Genetics (fsigenetics.com)
Ali, A.A., Aalto, M., Jonasson, J. et al. (2020) using principal component analysis showed that approximately 60% of Somali ancestry is East African and 40% Western Eurasian. In the same year, 119 whole genomes of Ethiopian populations (Amhara, Oromo, Somali, Wolayta and Gumuz) were studied to investigate the modes of positive selection in the region. As part of the research, the proportion of West Asian ancestry was measured, and it showed that this component in Somalis was averaged at 44%. These values were said to be largely in agreement with previous estimates.
🔗Genome-wide analyses disclose the distinctive HLA architecture and the pharmacogenetic landscape of the Somali population - PMC (nih.gov)
🔗Positive selection in admixed populations from Ethiopia - PMC (nih.gov)
In an analysis of 68 Ethiopian ethnic groups, Lopez et al. (2021) revealed that several groups belonging to the three AA classifications of Cushitic, Omotic and Semitic show high genetic similarity to each other on average. Furthermore, the Nilo-Saharan speakers in the southwest shared more recent ancestry with Bantu and Nilotics, in contrast Afro-Asiatic speakers in the northeast shared more recent ancestry with Egyptians and other West Eurasians. The data also supported widespread recent intermixing among various ethnic groups.
🔗Evidence of the interplay of genetics and culture in Ethiopia - PMC (nih.gov)
In 2021, a study found significant genetic differentiation between the three Nilotic language sub-families, with Western Nilotes (the Luo ethnic group) showing greater similarity to the Bantu than the Southern and Eastern Nilotes which themselves showed closer affinity to the Cushitic speakers. This concurs with previous genetic, linguistic and social studies. Comparisons with other African populations also showed that linguistic affiliation is a stronger factor than geography.
🔗Geographical and linguistic structure in the people of Kenya demonstrated using 21 autosomal STRs - ScienceDirect
Another 2021 study found genetic differences in Ethiopian AA (Afro-Asiatic) speakers and NS (Nilo-Saharan) speakers. Afro-Asiatic speakers showed strong signs of admixture with West Asian sources as far back as 4000 years ago. The study found that Ethiopian groups descend from a Mota-like source, Nilo-Saharan speaking Dinka populations, and North Africans/Levantines
🔗Structure and ancestry patterns of Ethiopians in genome-wide autosomal DNA | Human Molecular Genetics | Oxford Academic (oup.com)
It was seen that: 
Evidence of the interplay of genetics and culture in Ethiopia | Nature Communications
In 2022
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35271793/
In 2022, 
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982222003141
They were found o harbor 1.5-2% Neanderthal variants
https://www.reddit.com/r/23andme/comments/xmz9kb/somali_with_2_neanderthal/
🔗Ref17832783223

Ethiopian "Jews" are not Israelites/Hebrews nor Canaanites, they are indigenous to the Horn of African, not Israel period.
🔗https://anthromadness.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-jewishness-of-ethiopian-jews_7.html

Relevant Data from Archeology!
Historic Northeast African Civilizations
🔴Gash Group (~3,000 BCE)

🔴Punt (~2,500 BCE)

🔴D'mt (~1,000 BCE)
In 2008, Michael J. Harrower based on his study on sites said: "Epigraphic and monumental evidence point to an indisputable South Arabian influence suggesting migration and colonization from Yemen in the early 1st millennium BC as the main factor of state formation on the highlands. Rock inscriptions in Qohayto (Akkala Guzay, Eritrea) document the presence of individuals or small groups from Arabia on the highlands at this time." Which was an opinion also shared Joseph W. Michels previously in 2005. He noted based on his archeological surveying Aksumite sites that "there is abundant evidence of specific Sabean traits such as inscription style, religious ideology and symbolism, art style and architectural techniques."
🔗Changing Settlement Patterns in the Aksum-Yeha Region of Ethiopia: 700 BC ... - Joseph W. Michels - Google Books
🔗(PDF) The Pre-Aksumite and Aksumite Settlement of NE Tigrai, Ethiopia (researchgate.net)
🔴Axum (~500 BCE)

Comments

Post a Comment