01-15-2007, 10:06 AM
http://www.deccan.com/home/homedetails.asp...etically~closer
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Hyderabad, Jan. 14: People belonging to lower castes are genetically closer to tribal groups than they are to upper castes, a study conducted by the Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) has discovered. Experts from the CCMB believe that this finding adds credence to the theory that lower castes emerged from tribal populations. A senior scientist at the centre, Dr Kumarasamy Thangaraj, said the origin of the caste system in India has been the subject of heated debate among anthropologists and historians.
Many of them had suggested that the caste system began with the arrival of speakers of Indo-European languages from Central Asia about 3,500 years ago. âHowever, there has been no consensus on this so far,â he added.
In the latest study, CCMB scientists analysed the Y-chromosome and mitochondrial DNA of three tribal populations of southern India and compared the results with the available data from across the Indian subcontinent. They did not find any significant difference in mitochondrial DNA among Indian tribal and caste populations. On the other hand, the study of the Y-chromosome lineage revealed distinct distribution patterns among caste and tribal populations. âThe paternal lineage of Indian lower castes shows closer affinity to the tribal populations than to upper castes,â said Dr Thangaraj.
A significant aspect of the study is that its Y-SNP data provides compelling genetic evidence for the tribal origin of the lower caste populations. It gives substance to the theory that lower caste groups may have emerged from hierarchical divisions existing within the tribal groups much before the arrival of the Aryans. Indo-Europeans may have established themselves as upper castes over this already developed caste-like class structure within the tribes.
Indian society has been subject to multiple waves of migration in historicand prehistoric times. The first was the ancient Palaeolithic migration by early humans. This was followed by the early Neolithic migration, probably of proto-Dravidian speakers. About 3,500 years ago, the Indo-European speakers arrived. âIndian tribal and caste populations emerge from the genetic heritage of Pleistocene southern and western Asians,â said Dr Thangaraj. âAt the same time, the paternal lineage of Indian castes is more closely related to the Central Asians.â
The results suggest that the Indian subcontinent was settled soon after the famous out-of-Africa expedition, and that there had been no complete extinction or replacement of the initial settlers. Rather, they were supplemented and restructured by later waves of migrations.
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Lower castes genetically closer
Hyderabad, Jan. 14: People belonging to lower castes are genetically closer to tribal groups than they are to upper castes, a study conducted by the Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) has discovered. Experts from the CCMB believe that this finding adds credence to the theory that lower castes emerged from tribal populations. A senior scientist at the centre, Dr Kumarasamy Thangaraj, said the origin of the caste system in India has been the subject of heated debate among anthropologists and historians.
Many of them had suggested that the caste system began with the arrival of speakers of Indo-European languages from Central Asia about 3,500 years ago. âHowever, there has been no consensus on this so far,â he added.
In the latest study, CCMB scientists analysed the Y-chromosome and mitochondrial DNA of three tribal populations of southern India and compared the results with the available data from across the Indian subcontinent. They did not find any significant difference in mitochondrial DNA among Indian tribal and caste populations. On the other hand, the study of the Y-chromosome lineage revealed distinct distribution patterns among caste and tribal populations. âThe paternal lineage of Indian lower castes shows closer affinity to the tribal populations than to upper castes,â said Dr Thangaraj.
A significant aspect of the study is that its Y-SNP data provides compelling genetic evidence for the tribal origin of the lower caste populations. It gives substance to the theory that lower caste groups may have emerged from hierarchical divisions existing within the tribal groups much before the arrival of the Aryans. Indo-Europeans may have established themselves as upper castes over this already developed caste-like class structure within the tribes.
Indian society has been subject to multiple waves of migration in historicand prehistoric times. The first was the ancient Palaeolithic migration by early humans. This was followed by the early Neolithic migration, probably of proto-Dravidian speakers. About 3,500 years ago, the Indo-European speakers arrived. âIndian tribal and caste populations emerge from the genetic heritage of Pleistocene southern and western Asians,â said Dr Thangaraj. âAt the same time, the paternal lineage of Indian castes is more closely related to the Central Asians.â
The results suggest that the Indian subcontinent was settled soon after the famous out-of-Africa expedition, and that there had been no complete extinction or replacement of the initial settlers. Rather, they were supplemented and restructured by later waves of migrations.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--emo&
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='rolleyes.gif' /><!--endemo-->