|
|
African pygmies diverged from other humans 60,000 years ago Jeremy Hance mongabay.com April 10, 2009
The geneticists, led by Lluis Quintana-Murci, looked at the genetic profiles of twelve populations and compared them with farmers across Africa. With the help of simulations the scientists arrived at 60,000 years ago for the probable divergence for Africa Pygmies. The finding corresponds well with prehistory: 60,000 years ago was an important period for human migrations both in and outside Africa. The researchers also explored a split within the African Pygmy community. Currently, African Pygmies survive in two distinct groups: Western and Eastern Pygmies. Quintana-Murci and his team found that the split between these groups occurred around 20,000 years ago, when a period of climate change led to the Pygmy's rainforest habitat retreating into 'refugia', or small refuges of surviving rainforest, before expanding outward again. "[African Pygmies] have probably inherited their distinctive shared physical traits, such as low height, from a common ancestor, rather than by convergent adaptation to the rainforest,” said Etienne Patin, one of the study's leading authors. To further uncover the origins and prehistory of African Pygmies, the researchers state that complete genome-wide profiles of various populations are required. 'African Pygmy' is a term used to denote a number of ethnic groups with varying cultures, traditions, and languages. However, pygmies must have an average male height of under 155 centimeters. Pygmies occur worldwide, including populations in the Andaman Islands, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Brazil, and Bolivia. African Pygmies have suffered greatly in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the nation's devastating civil war. The Mbuti tribe has claimed that both sides of the war committed genocide against its people, including cannibalization . There have also been widespread reports of Pygmies being used as slaves by the Bantu peoples. CITATION: Patin E, Laval G, Barreiro LB, Salas A, Semino O, et al. (2009) Inferring the Demographic History of African Farmers and Pygmy Hunter-Gatherers Using a Multilocus Resequencing Data Set. PLoS Genet 5(4): e1000448. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1000448 Related articles Congo pygmies use GPS to map eco-certified timber concession (05/29/2008) Loggers have teamed with indigenous Pygmies to establish the largest ever eco-certified logging scheme. New theory on the evolution of pygmies (12/10/2007) The small body size of forest-dwelling "pygmies" evolved as a life history consequence of early death, not as an adaptation to their environment or endurance against starvation, argues a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Congo pygmies to meet World Bank President Zoellick over forest destruction (10/17/2007) A delegation of 'Pygmies' from Democratic Republic of Congo are visiting Washington this week to discuss World Bank-sanctioned logging of their rainforest home. The 'Pygmies' are scheduled to meet with bank President Robert Zoellick, according to the Rainforest Foundation, a lobby group that sponsored the trip. Congo Pygmies Losing Fight for Their Forests (03/06/2006) Pygmy chief Mbomba Bokenu says he may soon let loggers cut his people's forests, and all he expects in return are soap and a few bags of salt. SHARE THIS ARTICLE:
News index | RSS | News Feed | Twitter | Home Advertisements: Organic Apparel from Patagonia | Insect-repelling clothing
|
|
|
MONGABAY.COM
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER INTERACT
STORE SHIRTS HIGH RESOLUTION PHOTOS / PRINTS 
CALENDARS 
CANVAS BAGS 
| | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Copyright mongabay 2009 |
