7 Conclusion
The SCR of the pioneer phase of the peopling of the vast territories of Asia has gained increasingly strong experimental support, thanks to recently acquired deeper phylogenetic and phylogeographic knowledge about the spread of mtDNA (and Y-chromosomal) variation in this continent. Much, if not all, of the early settlement process can be seen as a ‘fast train to Southeast Asia and Australia along the SCR’—indeed, so fast that the founder haplotypes at the base of haplogroups M, N, and R reached all major destinations alongside the route, as far down as Australia. It appears that Central Asia and southern Siberia were not involved in the initial peopling of the continent. It is also evident that the initial fast train phase was followed by a long-lasting freezing of the major geographic pools of maternal lineages in the south and further gene flows northwards from Southeast Asia and subsequently back westwards along the Steppe Belt extending from Manchuria to Europe. At present, western Siberia, the Urals, and Central Asia form a huge continuous admixture zone encompassing East and West Eurasian maternal lineages—a process that has so far had only a minimal influence on the essentially distinct autochthonous patterns of mtDNA variation in most of South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Australasia.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Adams JM, Faure H (1997) Global land environments during the last interglacial. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge
Adams JM, Maslin M, Thomas E (1999) Sudden climate transitions during the Quaternary. Prog Phys Geogr 23:1–36
Ballinger SW, Schurr TG, Torroni A, Gan YY, Hodge JA, Hassan K, Chen KH, Wallace DC (1992) Southeast Asian mitochondrial DNA analysis reveals genetic continuity of ancient mongoloid migrations. Genetics 130:139–152
Barker G, Barton H, Beavitt P, Bird M, Daly P, Doherty C, Gilbertson D, Hunt C, Krigbaum J, Lewis H, Manser J, McLaren S, Paz V, Piper P, Pyatt B, Rabett R, Reynolds T, Rose J, Rushworth G, Stephens M (2002) Prehistoric foragers and farmers in Southeast Asia: renewed investigations at Niah Cave, Sarawak. Proc Prehist Soc 68:147–164
Bar-Yosef O (2001) Dating the transition from the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic. Paper presented at XXIe Rencontres internationales d’archeologie et d’historie d’Antibes, Antibes
Bermisheva MA, Kutuev IA, Korshunova TY, Dubova NA, Villems R, Khusnutdinova EK (2004) Phylogeographic analysis of mitochondrial DNA in the Nogays: A strong mixture of maternal lineages from eastern and western Eurasia. Mol Biol (Mosk) 38:516–523
Bowler J, Johnston H, Olley J, Prescott J, Roberts R, Shawcross W, Spooner N (2003) New ages for human occupation and climatic change at Lake Mungo, Australia. Nature 421:837–840
Chakrabarti DK (1999) India. An archaeological history. Palaeolithic beginnings to early historic foundations. Oxford University Press, New Delhi
Chappell J (2002) Sea level changes forced ice breakouts in the Last Glacial cycle: new results from coral terraces. Quat Sci Rev 21:1229–1240
Chen TM, Zhang YY (1991) Palaeolithic chronology and possible co-existence of H. erectus and H. sapiens in China. World Archeol 23:147–154
Comas D, Plaza S, Wells RS, Yuldaseva N, Lao O, Calafell F, Bertranpetit J (2004) Admixture, migrations, and dispersals in Central Asia: evidence from maternal DNA lineages. Eur J Hum Genet 12:495–504
Cruciani F, La Fratta R, Santolamazza P, Sellitto D, Pascone R, Moral P, Watson E, Guida V, Colomb EB, Zaharova B, Lavinha J, Vona G, Aman R, Calì F, Akar N, Richards M, Torroni A, Novelletto A, Scozzari R (2004) Phylogeographic analysis of haplogroup E3b (E-M215) Y chromosomes reveals multiple migratory events within and out of Africa. Am J Hum Genet 74:1014–1022
Derenko MV, Grzybowski T, Malyarchuk BA, Dambueva IK, Denisova GA, Czarny J, Dorzhu CM, Kakpakov VT, Miścicka-Śliwka D, Woźniak M, Zakharov IA (2003) Diversity of mitochondrial DNA lineages in south Siberia. Ann Hum Genet 67:391–411
Dolukhanov PM, Shukurov AM, Tarasov PE, Zaitseva GI (2002) Colonization of northern Eurasia by modern humans: radiocarbon chronology and environment. J Arch Sci 29:593–606
Etler DA (1996) The fossil evidence for human evolution in Asia. Annu Rev Anthropol 25:275–301
Foley R (1998) The context of human genetic evolution. Genome Res 8:339–347
Forster P, Harding R, Torroni A, Bandelt H-J (1996) Origin and evolution of Native American mtDNA variation: a reappraisal. Am J Hum Genet 59:935–945
Forster P, Torroni A, Renfrew C, Röhl A (2001) Phylogenetic star contraction applied to Asian and Papuan mtDNA evolution. Mol Biol Evol 18:1864–1881
Gilead I (1991) The Upper Palaeolithic period in the Levant. J World Prehist 5:105–154
Ingman M, Gyllensten U (2003) Mitochondrial genome variation and evolutionary history of Australian and New Guinean aborigines. Genome Res 13:1600–1606
Jobling MA, Tyler-Smith C (2003) The human Y chromosome: an evolutionary marker comes of age. Nat Rev Genet 4:598–612
Joshi RV (1996) South Asia in the period of Homo sapiens neanderthalensis and contemporaries (Middle Palaeolithic), vol I. UNESCO
Kennedy KA, Deraniyagala SU, Roertgen WJ, Chiment J, Disotell T (1987) Upper Pleistocene fossil hominids from Sri Lanka. Am J Phys Anthropol 72:441–461
Kennedy KAR, Deraniyagala SU (1989) Fossil remains of 28 000-year-old hominids from Sri Lanka. Curr Anthropol 30:394–399
Kivisild T, Bamshad MJ, Kaldma K, Metspalu M, Metspalu E, Reidla M, Laos S, Parik J, Watkins WS, Dixon ME, Papiha SS, Mastana SS, Mir MR, Ferak V, Villems R (1999a) Deep common ancestry of Indian and western-Eurasian mitochondrial DNA lineages. Curr Biol 9:1331–1334
Kivisild T, Kaldma K, Metspalu M, Parik J, Papiha SS, Villems R (1999b) The place of the Indian mitochondrial DNA variants in the global network of maternal lineages and the peopling of the Old World. In: Papiha SS, Deka R, Chakraborty R (eds) Genomic diversity. Kluwer/Plenum, Dordrecht, pp 135–152
Kivisild T, Papiha SS, Rootsi S, Parik J, Kaldma K, Reidla M, Laos S, Metspalu M, Pielberg G, Adojaan M, Metspalu E, Mastana SS, Wang Y, Gölge M, Demirtas H, Schnekenberg E, Stefano GF, Geberhiwot T, Claustres M, Villems R (2000) An Indian ancestry: a key for understanding human diversity in Europe and beyond. In: Renfrew C, Boyle K (eds) Archaeogenetics: DNA and the population prehistory of Europe. McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research University of Cambridge, Cambridge, pp 267–279
Kivisild T, Tolk H-V, Parik J, Wang Y, Papiha SS, Bandelt H-J, Villems R (2002) The emerging limbs and twigs of the East Asian mtDNA tree. Mol Biol Evol 19:1737–1751 (erratum 20:162)
Kivisild T, Rootsi S, Metspalu M, Mastana S, Kaldma K, Parik J, Metspalu E, Adojaan M, Tolk H-V, Stepanov V, Gölge M, Usanga E, Papiha SS, Cinnioglu C, King R, Cavalli-Sforza L, Underhill PA, Villems R (2003) The genetic heritage of the earliest settlers persists both in Indian tribal and caste populations. Am J Hum Genet 72:313–332
Kivisild T, Reidla M, Metspalu E, Rosa A, Brehm A, Pennarun E, Parik J, Geberhiwot T, Usanga E, Villems R (2004) Ethiopian mitochondrial DNA heritage: tracking gene flows across and around the Strait of Tears. Am J Hum Genet 75:752–770
Klein R (1999) The human career. University of Chicago Press, Chicago
Kong Q-P, Yao Y-G, Sun C, Bandelt H-J, Zhu C-L, Zhang Y-P (2003) Phylogeny of East Asian mitochondrial DNA lineages inferred from complete sequences. Am J Hum Genet 73:671–676
Kumar V, Reddy M (2003) Status of Austro-Asiatic groups in the peopling of India: An exploratory study based on the available prehistoric, linguistic and biological evidences. J Biosci 28:507–522
Kuzmin YV, Keates SG (2004) Comment on “Colonization of northern Eurasia by modern humans: radiocarbon chronology and environment” by P.M. Dolukhanov, A.M. Shukurov, P.E. Tarasov and G.I. Zaitseva. Journal of Archaeological Science 29, 593–606 (2002). J Archaeol Sci 31:141–143
Lahr M, Foley R (1994) Multiple dispersals and modern human origins. Evol Anthropol 3:48–60
Luis JR, Rowold DJ, Regueiro M, Caeiro B, Cinnioglu C, Roseman C, Underhill PA, Cavalli-Sforza LL, Herrera RJ (2004) The Levant versus the Horn of Africa: evidence for bidirectional corridors of human migrations. Am J Hum Genet 74:532–544 (erratum 74:788)
Maca-Meyer N, González AM, Larruga JM, Flores C, Cabrera VM (2001) Major genomic mitochondrial lineages delineate early human expansions. BMC Genet 2:13
Macaulay V, Hill C, Achilli A, Rengo C, Clarke D, Meehan W, Blackburn J, Semino O, Scozzari R, Cruciani F, Taha A, Shaari NK, Raja JM, Ismail P, Zainuddin Z, Goodwin W, Bulbeck D, Bandelt H-J, Oppenheimer S, Torroni A, Richards M (2005) Single, rapid coastal settlement of Asia revealed by analysis of complete mitochondrial genomes. Science 308:1034–1036
Maruyama S, Minaguchi K, Saitou N (2003) Sequence polymorphisms of the mitochondrial DNA control region and phylogenetic analysis of mtDNA lineages in the Japanese population. Int J Legal Med 117:218–225
Merriwether DA, Hodgson JA, Friedlaender FR, Allaby R, Cerchio S, Koki G, Friedlaender JS (2005) Ancient mitochondrial M haplogroups identified in the Southwest Pacific. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 102:13034–13039
Metspalu M, Kivisild T, Metspalu E, Parik J, Hudjashov G, Kaldma K, Serk P, Karmin M, Behar DM, Gilbert MTP, Endicott P, Mastana S, Papiha SS, Skorecki K, Torroni A, Villems R (2004) Most of the extant mtDNA boundaries in South and Southwest Asia were likely shaped during the initial settlement of Eurasia by anatomically modern humans. BMC Genet 5:26 (erratum 6:41)
Mishmar D, Ruiz-Pesini E, Golik P, Macaulay V, Clark AG, Hosseini S, Brandon M, Easley K, Chen E, Brown MD, Sukernik RI, Olckers A, Wallace DC (2003) Natural selection shaped regional mtDNA variation in humans. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 100:171–176
Olszewski DI, Dibble HL (1994) The Zagros Aurignacian. Curr Anthropol 35:68–75
Oppenheimer S (2003) Out of Eden: the peopling of the world. Constable, London
Pakendorf B, Stoneking M (2005) Mitochondrial DNA and human evolution. Annu Rev Genomics Hum Genet 6:165–183
Palanichamy M, Sun C, Agrawal S, Bandelt H-J, Kong Q-P, Khan F, Wang C-Y, Chaudhuri T, Palla V, Zhang Y-P (2004) Phylogeny of mtDNA macrohaplogroup N in India based on complete sequencing: implications for the peopling of South Asia. Am J Hum Genet 75:966–978
Quintana-Murci L, Semino O, Bandelt H-J, Passarino G, McElreavey K, Santachiara-Benerecetti AS (1999) Genetic evidence of an early exit of Homo sapiens sapiens from Africa through eastern Africa. Nat Genet 23:437–441
Quintana-Murci L, Chaix R, Wells S, Behar D, Sayar H, Scozzari R, Rengo C, Al-Zahery N, Semino O, Santachiara-Benerecetti A, Coppa A, Ayub Q, Mohyuddin A, Tyler-Smith C, Mehdi Q, Torroni A, McElreavey K (2004) Where West meets East: the complex mtDNA landscape of the Southwest and Central Asian corridor. Am J Hum Genet 74:827–845
Ray N, Adams JM (2001) A GIS-based vegetation map of the world at the Last Glacial Maximum (25 000–15 000 BP). Internet Archaeol 11
Richards M, Macaulay V, Hickey E, Vega E, Sykes B, Guida V, Rengo C et al. (2000) Tracing European founder lineages in the Near Eastern mtDNA pool. Am J Hum Genet 67:1251–1276
Roberts RG, Jones R, Smith MA (1990) Thermoluminescence dating of a 50 000-year-old human occupation site in northern Australia. Nature 345: 153–156
Roberts RG, Jones R, Spooner NA, Head MJ, Murray AS, Smith MA (1994) The human colonisation of Australia: optical dates of 53 000 and 60 000 years bracket human arrival at Deaf Adder Gorge, Northern Territory. Quat Sci Rev 13:575–583
Sauer C (1962) Seashore—primitive home of man? Proc Am Philos Soc 106:41–47
Scott GR, Turner CGI (1997) The anthropology of modern human teeth. Dental morphology and its variation in recent human populations. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Semino O, Magri C, Benuzzi G, Lin AA, Al-Zahery N, Battaglia V, Maccioni L, Triantaphyllidis C, Shen P, Oefner PJ, Zhivotovsky LA, King R, Torroni A, Cavalli-Sforza LL, Underhill PA, Santachiara-Benerecetti AS (2004) Origin, diffusion, and differentiation of Y-chromosome haplogroups E and J: inferences on the neolithization of Europe and later migratory events in the Mediterranean area. Am J Hum Genet 74:1023–1034
Shen G, Wang W, Wang Q, Zhao J, Collerson K, Zhou C, Tobias PV (2002) U-Series dating of Liujiang hominid site in Guangxi, southern China. J Hum Evol 43:817–829
Stoneking M, Jorde LB, Bhatia K, Wilson AC (1990) Geographic variation in human mitochondrial DNA from Papua New Guinea. Genetics 124:717–733
Stringer C (2000) Coasting out of Africa. Nature 405:24–25, 27
Su B, Xiao J, Underhill P, Deka R, Zhang W, Akey J, Huang W, Shen D, Lu D, Luo J, Chu J, Tan J, Shen P, Davis R, Cavalli-Sforza L, Chakraborty R, Xiong M, Du R, Oefner P, Chen Z, Jin L (1999) Y-Chromosome evidence for a northward migration of modern humans into Eastern Asia during the last ice age. Am J Hum Genet 65:1718–1724
Sun C, Kong Q-P, Palanichamy Mg, Agrawal S, Bandelt H-J, Yao Y-G, Khan F, Zhu C-L, Chaudhuri TK, Zhang Y-P, (2006) The dazzling array of basal branches in the mtDNA macrohaplogroup M from India as inferred from complete genomes. Mol Biol Evol 23:683–690
Sykes B, Leiboff A, Low-Beer J, Tetzner S, Richards M (1995) The origins of the Polynesians: an interpretation from mitochondrial lineage analysis. Am J Hum Genet 57:1463–1475
Tanaka M, Cabrera VM, González AM, Larruga JM, Takeyasu T, Fuku N, Guo L-J, et al. (2004) Mitochondrial genome variation in eastern Asia and the peopling of Japan. Genome Res 14:1832–1850
Thorne A, Grun R, Mortimer G, Spooner NA, Simpson JJ, McCulloch M, Taylor L, Curnoe D (1999) Australia’s oldest human remains: age of the Lake Mungo 3 skeleton. J Hum Evol 36:591–612
Torroni A, Schurr TG, Cabell MF, Brown MD, Neel JV, Larsen M, Smith DG, Vullo CM, Wallace DC (1993a) Asian affinities and continental radiation of the four founding Native American mtDNAs. Am J Hum Genet 53:563–590
Torroni A, Sukernik RI, Schurr TG, Starikorskaya YB, Cabell MF, Crawford MH, Comuzzie AG, Wallace DC (1993b) mtDNA variation of aboriginal Siberians reveals distinct genetic affinities with Native Americans. Am J Hum Genet 53:591–608
Torroni A, Neel JV, Barrantes R, Schurr TG, Wallace DC (1994) Mitochondrial DNA “clock” for the Amerinds and its implications for timing their entry into North America. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 91:1158–1162
Turney CSM, Bird MI, Fifield LK, Roberts RG, Smith M, Dortch CE, Grun R, Lawson E, Ayliffe LK, Miller GH (2001) Early human occupation at Devil’s Lair, southwestern Australia 50 000 years ago. Quat Res 55:3–13
Underhill PA, Passarino G, Lin AA, Shen P, Mirazon Lahr M, Foley R, Oefner PJ, Cavalli-Sforza LL (2001) The phylogeography of Y chromosome binary haplotypes and the origins of modern human populations. Ann Hum Genet 65:43–62
van Andel T, Davies W, Weninger B (2003) The human presence in Europe during the last glacial period I: human migrations and the changing climate. In: van Andel T, Davies W (eds) Neanderthals and modern humans in the European landscape during the last glaciation. McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Cambridge, pp 31–56
Vasil’ev SA, Kuzmin YV, Orlova LA, Dementiev VN (2002) Radiocarbon-based chronology of the Palaeolithic in Siberia and its relevance to the peopling of the New World. Radiocarbon 44:503–530
Wells RS, Yuldasheva N, Ruzibakiev R, Underhill PA, Evseeva I, Blue-Smith J, Jin L, et al. (2001) The Eurasian heartland: a continental perspective on Y-chromosome diversity. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 98:10244–10249
Yao Y-G, Kong Q-P, Bandelt H-J, Kivisild T, Zhang Y-P (2002) Phylogeographic differentiation of mitochondrial DNA in Han Chinese. Am J Hum Genet 70:635–651
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2006 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Metspalu, M., Kivisild, T., Bandelt, HJ., Richards, M., Villems, R. (2006). The Pioneer Settlement of Modern Humans in Asia. In: Bandelt, HJ., Macaulay, V., Richards, M. (eds) Human Mitochondrial DNA and the Evolution of Homo sapiens . Nucleic Acids and Molecular Biology, vol 18. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg . https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-31789-9_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-31789-9_8
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-31788-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-31789-0
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)