2018/03/08 by Hugh McColl, Fernando Racimo, Lasse Vinner +41 · 3 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Forensic and Genetic Research #Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies #Molecular Biology Techniques and Applications #Biological dispersal #Southeast asia #Prehistory #Mainland #East Asia #Geography #Human migration #Population #Out of africa #Evolutionary biology #Biology #Ethnology #Archaeology #History #Demography #China
paper · pdf · doi:10.1101/278374
openalex publication_date 2018/03/08 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Abstract Two distinct population models have been put forward to explain present-day human diversity in Southeast Asia. The first model proposes long-term continuity (Regional Continuity model) while the other suggests two waves of dispersal (Two Layer model). Here, we use whole-genome capture in combination with shotgun sequencing to generate 25 ancient human genome sequences from mainland and island Southeast Asia, and directly test the two competing hypotheses. We find that early genomes from Hoabinhian hunter-gatherer contexts in Laos and Malaysia have genetic affinities with the Onge hunter-gatherers from the Andaman Islands, while Southeast Asian Neolithic farmers have a distinct East Asian genomic ancestry related to present-day Austroasiatic-speaking populations. We also identify two further migratory events, consistent with the expansion of speakers of Austronesian languages into Island Southeast Asia ca. 4 kya, and the expansion by East Asians into northern Vietnam ca. 2 kya. These findings support the Two Layer model for the early peopling of Southeast Asia and highlight the complexities of dispersal patterns from East Asia.