01-30-2005, 08:15 PM
NS.Rajaram review of Oppenheimer book
HISTORY IN OUR GENES -- Aryan Invasion/Migration WRONG
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HISTORY IN OUR GENES
Recent findings in population genetics overturn long-held theories
N.S. Rajaram
Out of Eden: The peopling of the world by Stephen Oppenheimer (2003).
Constable, London. 440 + xxi pages. £18.99.
Our ancestors used to live in Africa 150,000 years ago. A small group of homo sapiens left Africa some 80,000 years ago and settled along the South Asian coast from where they spread out to colonize different parts of the world. All non-Africans in the world today are descendants of a small group of South Asians living south of a line from Yemen to the Himalayas, especially along the Indian coast. This 'founder group,' from which all non-Africans are descended, barely survived the fallout from a volcanic eruption in Sumatra known as the 'Toba Explosion' 74,000 years ago. Climate changes have been the drivers of both evolution and migration.
This is the story of our past growing out of more than fifty years of intensive mapping of human genes and climate changes by different scientists. The Oxford geneticist Stephen Oppenheimer tells all this in absorbing detail while adding much new insight in his important new book Out of Eden. By relating these movements to ecological upheavals, what he gives us is the genetic history of modern humans correlated with the natural history of our planet.
It is important to interpret this properly. It does not mean that there were no non-African humans before the Toba Explosion, but only that no descendants of those earlier populations have survived outside Africa. A group out of Africa 120,000 years ago made its way to Egypt but disappeared 90,000 years ago without a genetic trace. All Europeans living today are descended from South Asians, possibly as recently as 40,000 years ago. South Asia, India in particular, was the jumping off point for the colonization East Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and ultimately the Americas.
This raises some questions for theories about Indian history and anthropology created during the colonial era. Leaving aside pseudo-scientific theories about race and language, which have been discredited by science but continue in various guises in some academic circles, it shows that both the so-called adivasis (tribals or aborginals) and the caste Hindus share a common African origin. The same is true of Dravidians and Dalits.
Equally interesting is the message of the M17 genetic marker, which some have sought to identify with the 'Aryan' gene. It appears in India, Iran, Eurasia and Europe, but has the greatest intensity and diversity in India showing that the Indian population is the oldest. This means that proponents of the Aryan invasion (or migration) have got both the origin and the direction of movement wrong.
Questions arise about linguistic theories also though this is complicated by the fact that most languages have not survived, and theoretical reconstructions based on surviving languages (like Sanskrit) have failed quantitative tests. The problem is that written records go back only about 5000 years, while spoken languages have existed for at least ten times as long. Linguists have borrowed time scales based on written records and used them to reconstruct ancient extinct languages, creating confusion and controversy.
All this opens up a major new area of research for Indian scholars- of exploring ancient records like the Vedas and Puranas for hints that may shed light on prehistoric events. For example, maritime myths like the Matsya and Kurma (fish and tortoise incarnations) may refer to the period when our ancestors were leaving their coastal refuge and expanding landward. This, however, calls for a proper understanding of the natural history behind it. Out of Eden can be a valuable source in following that course.
__________
N.S. Rajaram is a mathematician who has worked in population genetics and written on ancient history.
HISTORY IN OUR GENES -- Aryan Invasion/Migration WRONG
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HISTORY IN OUR GENES
Recent findings in population genetics overturn long-held theories
N.S. Rajaram
Out of Eden: The peopling of the world by Stephen Oppenheimer (2003).
Constable, London. 440 + xxi pages. £18.99.
Our ancestors used to live in Africa 150,000 years ago. A small group of homo sapiens left Africa some 80,000 years ago and settled along the South Asian coast from where they spread out to colonize different parts of the world. All non-Africans in the world today are descendants of a small group of South Asians living south of a line from Yemen to the Himalayas, especially along the Indian coast. This 'founder group,' from which all non-Africans are descended, barely survived the fallout from a volcanic eruption in Sumatra known as the 'Toba Explosion' 74,000 years ago. Climate changes have been the drivers of both evolution and migration.
This is the story of our past growing out of more than fifty years of intensive mapping of human genes and climate changes by different scientists. The Oxford geneticist Stephen Oppenheimer tells all this in absorbing detail while adding much new insight in his important new book Out of Eden. By relating these movements to ecological upheavals, what he gives us is the genetic history of modern humans correlated with the natural history of our planet.
It is important to interpret this properly. It does not mean that there were no non-African humans before the Toba Explosion, but only that no descendants of those earlier populations have survived outside Africa. A group out of Africa 120,000 years ago made its way to Egypt but disappeared 90,000 years ago without a genetic trace. All Europeans living today are descended from South Asians, possibly as recently as 40,000 years ago. South Asia, India in particular, was the jumping off point for the colonization East Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and ultimately the Americas.
This raises some questions for theories about Indian history and anthropology created during the colonial era. Leaving aside pseudo-scientific theories about race and language, which have been discredited by science but continue in various guises in some academic circles, it shows that both the so-called adivasis (tribals or aborginals) and the caste Hindus share a common African origin. The same is true of Dravidians and Dalits.
Equally interesting is the message of the M17 genetic marker, which some have sought to identify with the 'Aryan' gene. It appears in India, Iran, Eurasia and Europe, but has the greatest intensity and diversity in India showing that the Indian population is the oldest. This means that proponents of the Aryan invasion (or migration) have got both the origin and the direction of movement wrong.
Questions arise about linguistic theories also though this is complicated by the fact that most languages have not survived, and theoretical reconstructions based on surviving languages (like Sanskrit) have failed quantitative tests. The problem is that written records go back only about 5000 years, while spoken languages have existed for at least ten times as long. Linguists have borrowed time scales based on written records and used them to reconstruct ancient extinct languages, creating confusion and controversy.
All this opens up a major new area of research for Indian scholars- of exploring ancient records like the Vedas and Puranas for hints that may shed light on prehistoric events. For example, maritime myths like the Matsya and Kurma (fish and tortoise incarnations) may refer to the period when our ancestors were leaving their coastal refuge and expanding landward. This, however, calls for a proper understanding of the natural history behind it. Out of Eden can be a valuable source in following that course.
__________
N.S. Rajaram is a mathematician who has worked in population genetics and written on ancient history.