ABOVE: Analyses of the DNA from this member of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization help establish the origins of modern-day South Asians.
VASANT SHINDE
Modern South Asians descend from a mix of farmers, steppe pastoralists, and hunter-gatherers, and show genetic links to the Bronze-Age Indus Valley Civilization, according to two studies published yesterday (September 5) in Science and Cell. Analyzing hundreds of ancient genomes, researchers traced the history of South and Central Asians over thousands of years to estimate the timing of demographic and cultural movements such as migrations and the adoption of farming.
In the Science paper, an international team of researchers analyzed DNA from 523 ancient humans who lived over the last 8,000 years. The results indicate that after the decline of the Indus Valley Civilization, which practiced agriculture and flourished across what is now India and Pakistan from 3300 BCE until around 1300 BCE, some members of the ...
