2015/07/27 by Marina Silva, Farida Alshamali, Paula Silva +6 · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Social Sciences · #Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies #Forensic and Genetic Research #Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/srep12526
openalex publication_date 2015/07/27 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroup L2 originated in Western Africa but is nowadays spread across the entire continent. L2 movements were previously postulated to be related to the Bantu expansion, but L2 expansions eastwards probably occurred much earlier. By reconstructing the phylogeny of L2 (44 new complete sequences) we provide insights on the complex net of within-African migrations in the last 60 thousand years (ka). Results show that lineages in Southern Africa cluster with Western/Central African lineages at a recent time scale, whereas, eastern lineages seem to be substantially more ancient. Three moments of expansion from a Central African source are associated to L2: (1) one migration at 70-50 ka into Eastern or Southern Africa, (2) postglacial movements (15-10 ka) into Eastern Africa; and (3) the southward Bantu Expansion in the last 5 ka. The complementary population and L0a phylogeography analyses indicate no strong evidence of mtDNA gene flow between eastern and southern populations during the later movement, suggesting low admixture between Eastern African populations and the Bantu migrants. This implies that, at least in the early stages, the Bantu expansion was mainly a demic diffusion with little incorporation of local populations.