BetweenAndes andAmazon: The genetic profile of theArawak‐speakingYanesha

2014/09/17 by Chiara Barbieri, Paul Heggarty, Daniele Yang Yao +7 · 2 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Social Sciences · #Forensic and Genetic Research #Language and cultural evolution #Race, Genetics, and Society #Haplogroup #Population #Geography #Amazon rainforest #Ethnology #Gene flow #Evolutionary biology #Genealogy #History #Biology #Demography #Genetics #Ecology #Haplotype #Sociology #Genetic variation #Gene #Genotype

paper · pdf · doi:10.1002/ajpa.22616

openalex publication_date 2014/09/17 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04

Abstract

The Yanesha are a Peruvian population who inhabit an environment transitional between the Andes and Amazonia. They present cultural traits characteristic of both regions, including in the language they speak: Yanesha belongs to the Arawak language family (which very likely originated in the Amazon/Orinoco lowlands), but has been strongly influenced by Quechua, the most widespread language family of the Andes. Given their location and cultural make-up, the Yanesha make for an ideal case study for investigating language and population dynamics across the Andes-Amazonia divide. In this study, we analyze data from high and mid-altitude Yanesha villages, both Y chromosome (17 STRs and 16 SNPs diagnostic for assigning haplogroups) and mtDNA data (control region sequences and 3 SNPs and one INDEL diagnostic for assigning haplogroups). We uncover sex-biased genetic trends that probably arose in different stages: first, a male-biased gene flow from Andean regions, genetically consistent with highland Quechua-speakers and probably dating back to Inca expansion; and second, traces of European contact consistent with Y chromosome lineages from Italy and Tyrol, in line with historically documented migrations. Most research in the history, archaeology and linguistics of South America has long been characterized by perceptions of a sharp divide between the Andes and Amazonia; our results serve as a clear case-study confirming demographic flows across that 'divide'.

Citations

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Cited by

• MtDNA and Y‐chromosomal diversity in the Chachapoya, a population from the northeast Peruvian Andes‐Amazon divide
• Haplogroup T-M184 [wikipedia]