The formation of human populations in South and Central Asia
Vagheesh M. NarasimhanDepartment of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USANick PattersonBroad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA 02142, USAPriya MoorjaniCenter for Computational Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USANadin RohlandBroad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA 02142, USARebecca BernardosDepartment of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USASwapan MallickBroad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA 02142, USAIosif LazaridisDepartment of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USANathan NakatsukaDepartment of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USAÍñigo OlaldeDepartment of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USAMark LipsonDepartment of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USAAlexander M. KimDepartment of Anthropology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USALuca M. OlivieriISMEO - International Association of Mediterranean and Oriental Studies, Italian Archaeological Mission in Pakistan, 19200 Saidu Sharif (Swat), PakistanAlfredo CoppaDepartment of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University, Rome 00185, ItalyMassimo VidaleDepartment of Cultural Heritage: Archaeology and History of Art, Cinema and Music, University of Padua, Padua 35139, ItalyJ. P. MallorySchool of Natural and Built Environment, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland, UKVyacheslav MoiseyevPeter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera), Russian Academy of Science, St. Petersburg 199034, RussiaЕgor KitovA.Kh. Margulan Institute of Archaeology, Almaty 050010, KazakhstanJanet MongeUniversity of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USANicole AdamskiDepartment of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USANeel AlexDepartment of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USANasreen BroomandkhoshbachtDepartment of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USAFrancesca CandilioEarth Institute, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, IrelandKimberly CallanDepartment of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USAOlivia CheronetDepartment of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, AustriaBrendan J. CulletonInstitutes of Energy and the Environment, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USAMatthew FerryDepartment of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USADaniel FernandesCIAS, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra 3000-456, PortugalSuzanne FreilichDepartment of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, AustriaBeatriz GamarraCatalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES), Tarragona 43007, SpainDaniel GaudioEarth Institute, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, IrelandMateja HajdinjakMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, GermanyÉadaoin HarneyDepartment of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USAThomas K. HarperDepartment of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USADenise KeatingEarth Institute, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, IrelandAnn Marie LawsonDepartment of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USAMatthew MahBroad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA 02142, USAKirsten MandlDepartment of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, AustriaMegan MichelDepartment of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USAMario NovakEarth Institute, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, IrelandJonas OppenheimerDepartment of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USANiraj RaiBirbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow 226007, IndiaKendra SirakDepartment of Anthropology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USAViviane SlonMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, GermanyKristin StewardsonDepartment of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USAFatma ZalzalaDepartment of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USAZhao ZhangDepartment of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USAGaziz AkhatovA.Kh. Margulan Institute of Archaeology, Almaty 050010, KazakhstanA.N. BagashevTyumen Scientific Centre SB RAS, Institute of the Problems of Northern Development, Tyumen 625003, RussiaAlessandra BagneraISMEO - International Association of Mediterranean and Oriental Studies, Italian Archaeological Mission in Pakistan, 19200 Saidu Sharif (Swat), PakistanBauryzhan BaitanayevA.Kh. Margulan Institute of Archaeology, Almaty 050010, KazakhstanJulio Bendezú-SarmientoCNRS-EXT500, Directeur de la Delegation Archaologique Francaise en Afghanistan (DAFA), Embassy of France in Kabul, AfghanistanArman A. BissembaevA.Kh. Margulan Institute of Archaeology, Almaty 050010, KazakhstanGian Luca BonoraArchaeology of Asia Department, ISMEO - International Association of Mediterranean and Oriental Studies, Rome RM00186, ItalyTemirlan ChargynovKyrgyz National University, 720033 Bishkek, KyrgyzstanТ. А. ЧикишеваInstitute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk 630090, RussiaPetr K. DashkovskiyDepartment of Political History, National and State-Confessional Relations, Altai State University, Barnaul 656049, RussiaА. П. ДеревянкоInstitute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk 630090, RussiaMiroslav DobešInstitute of Archaeology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague 118 01, Czech RepublicKaterina DoukaDepartment of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena 07745, GermanyНадежда ДубоваCenter of Physical Anthropology, Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119991, RussiaMeiram N. DuisengaliAktobe Regional Historical Museum, Aktobe 030006, KazakhstanD.N. EnshinTyumen Scientific Centre SB RAS, Institute of the Problems of Northern Development, Tyumen 625003, RussiaAndrey EpimakhovInstitute of History and Archaeology, Ural Branch RAS, Yekaterinburg 620990, RussiaAlexey V. FribusDepartment of Archaeology, Kemerovo State University, Kemerovo 650043, RussiaDorian Q. FullerInstitute of Archaeology, University College London, London WC1H 0PY, UKAlexander GoryachevTyumen Scientific Centre SB RAS, Institute of the Problems of Northern Development, Tyumen 625003, RussiaAndrey GromovPeter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera), Russian Academy of Science, St. Petersburg 199034, RussiaС.П. ГрушинDepartment of Archaeology, Ethnography and Museology, Altai State University, Barnaul 656049, RussiaBryan HanksDepartment of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USAMargaret A. JuddDepartment of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USAErlan KazizovA.Kh. Margulan Institute of Archaeology, Almaty 050010, KazakhstanAleksandr KhokhlovSamara State University of Social Sciences and Education, Samara 443099, RussiaAleksander P. KryginWest Kazakhstan Regional Center for History and Archaeology, Uralsk 090000, KazakhstanElena KupriyanovaScientific and Educational Center of Study on the Problem of Nature and Man, Chelyabinsk State University, Chelyabinsk 454021, RussiaPavel KuznetsovSamara State University of Social Sciences and Education, Samara 443099, RussiaDonata LuiselliDepartment of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, 48121 Ravenna, ItalyFarhod MaksudovInstitute for Archaeological Research, Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences, Samarkand 140151, UzbekistanAslan M. MamedovCenter for Research, Restoration and Protection of Historical and Cultural Heritage of Aktobe Region, Aktobe 030007, KazakhstanTalgat B. MamirovA.Kh. Margulan Institute of Archaeology, Almaty 050010, KazakhstanChristopher MeiklejohnDepartment of Anthropology, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB R3B 2E9, CanadaDeborah C. MerrettDepartment of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, CanadaRoberto MicheliISMEO - International Association of Mediterranean and Oriental Studies, Italian Archaeological Mission in Pakistan, 19200 Saidu Sharif (Swat), PakistanOleg Dmitrievich MochalovSamara State University of Social Sciences and Education, Samara 443099, RussiaSamariddin MustafokulovAfrosiab Museum, Samarkand 140151, UzbekistanAyushi NayakDepartment of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena 07745, GermanyDavide PettenerDepartment of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, Bologna 40126, ItalyRichard PottsHuman Origins Program, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013, USADmitry RazhevTyumen Scientific Centre SB RAS, Institute of the Problems of Northern Development, Tyumen 625003, RussiaMarina P. RykunNational Research Tomsk State University, Tomsk 634050, RussiaStefania SarnoDepartment of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, Bologna 40126, ItalyTatyana M. SavenkovaF. Voino-Yasenetsky Krasnoyarsk State Medical University, Krasnoyarsk 660022, RussiaKulyan SikhymbaevaSergey SlepchenkoTyumen Scientific Centre SB RAS, Institute of the Problems of Northern Development, Tyumen 625003, RussiaOroz A. SoltobaevKyrgyz National University, 720033 Bishkek, KyrgyzstanN. StepanovaInstitute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk 630090, RussiaSvetlana V SvyatkoCHRONO Centre for Climate, the Environment, and Chronology, Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland, UKKubatbek TabaldievKyrgyz-Turkish Manas University, Bishkek, KyrgyzstanMaria Teschler‐NicolaDepartment of Anthropology, Natural History Museum Vienna, 1010 Vienna, AustriaА. ТишкинDepartment of Archaeology, Ethnography and Museology, The Laboratory of Interdisciplinary Studies in Archaeology of Western Siberia and Altai, Altai State University, Barnaul 656049, RussiaВ. В. ТкачевInstitute of Steppe, Ural Branch RAS, Orenburg 460000, Russia
ABI
Abstract
By sequencing 523 ancient humans, we show that the primary source of ancestry in modern South Asians is a prehistoric genetic gradient between people related to early hunter-gatherers of Iran and Southeast Asia. After the Indus Valley Civilization's decline, its people mixed with individuals in the southeast to form one of the two main ancestral populations of South Asia, whose direct descendants live in southern India. Simultaneously, they mixed with descendants of Steppe pastoralists who, starting around 4000 years ago, spread via Central Asia to form the other main ancestral population. The Steppe ancestry in South Asia has the same profile as that in Bronze Age Eastern Europe, tracking a movement of people that affected both regions and that likely spread the distinctive features shared between Indo-Iranian and Balto-Slavic languages.