A Neolithic expansion, but strong genetic structure, in the independent history of New Guinea
Date
2017
Authors
Bergström, Anders
Oppenheimer, Stephen James
Mentzer, Alexander J.
Auckland, Kathryn
Robson, K J H
Attenborough, Robert
Alpers, Michael
Koki, George
Pomat, William
Siba, Peter M.
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Volume Title
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American Association for the Advancement of Science
Abstract
New Guinea shows human occupation since ~50 thousand years ago (ka), independent
adoption of plant cultivation ~10 ka, and great cultural and linguistic diversity today.We
performed genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism genotyping on 381 individuals from
85 language groups in Papua New Guinea and find a sharp divide originating 10 to 20 ka
between lowland and highland groups and a lack of non–New Guinean admixture in the
latter. All highlanders share ancestry within the last 10 thousand years, with major population
growth in the same period, suggesting population structure was reshaped following the Neolithic
lifestyle transition. However, genetic differentiation between groups in Papua New Guinea is
much stronger than in comparable regions in Eurasia, demonstrating that such a transition does
not necessarily limit the genetic and linguistic diversity of human societies.
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Science
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Journal article
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DOI
10.1126/science.aan3842
Restricted until
2099-12-31