The paternal lineages of Saudis, new study.

[ALASMI]

Saudi Arabia’s indigenous population is organized into patrilineal descent groups, but to date, little has been done to characterize its population structure, in particular with respect to the male-specific region of the Y chromosome. We have used the 27-STR Yfiler® Plus kit to generate haplotypes in 597 unrelated Saudi males, classified into five geographical regions (North, South, Central, East and West). Overall, Yfiler® Plus provides a good discrimination capacity of 95.3%, but this is greatly reduced (74.7%) when considering the reduced Yfiler® set of 17 Y-STRs, justifying the use of the expanded set of markers in this population. Comparison of the five geographical divisions reveals striking differences, with low diversity and similar haplotype spectra in the Central and Northern regions, and high diversity and similar haplotype spectra in the East and West. These patterns likely reflect the geographical isolation of the desert heartland of the peninsula, and the proximity to the sea of the Eastern and Western areas, and consequent historical immigration. We predicted haplogroups from YSTR haplotypes, testing the performance of prediction by using a large independent set of Saudi Arabian Y-STR +Y-SNP data. Prediction indicated predominance (71%) of haplogroup J1, which was significantly more common in Central, Northern and Southern groups than in East and West, and formed a star-like expansion cluster in a median-joining network with an estimated age of ∼2800 years. Most of our 597 participants were sampled within Saudi Arabia itself, but ∼16% were sampled in the UK. Despite matching these two groups by home sub-region, we observed significant differences in haplotype and predicted haplogroup constitutions overall, and for most sub-regions individually. This suggests social structure influencing the probability of leaving Saudi Arabia, correlated with different Y-chromosome compositions. The UK-recruited sample is an inappropriate proxy for Saudi Arabia generally, and caution is needed when considering expatriate groups as representative of country of origin. Our study shows the importance of geographical and social structuring that may affect the utility of forensic databases and the interpretation of Y-STR profiles.

[josh w.]

Saudi Arabia’s indigenous population is organized into patrilineal descent groups, but to date, little has been done to characterize its population structure, in particular with respect to the male-specific region of the Y chromosome. We have used the 27-STR Yfiler® Plus kit to generate haplotypes in 597 unrelated Saudi males, classified into five geographical regions (North, South, Central, East and West). Overall, Yfiler® Plus provides a good discrimination capacity of 95.3%, but this is greatly reduced (74.7%) when considering the reduced Yfiler® set of 17 Y-STRs, justifying the use of the expanded set of markers in this population. Comparison of the five geographical divisions reveals striking differences, with low diversity and similar haplotype spectra in the Central and Northern regions, and high diversity and similar haplotype spectra in the East and West. These patterns likely reflect the geographical isolation of the desert heartland of the peninsula, and the proximity to the sea of the Eastern and Western areas, and consequent historical immigration. We predicted haplogroups from YSTR haplotypes, testing the performance of prediction by using a large independent set of Saudi Arabian Y-STR +Y-SNP data. Prediction indicated predominance (71%) of haplogroup J1, which was significantly more common in Central, Northern and Southern groups than in East and West, and formed a star-like expansion cluster in a median-joining network with an estimated age of ∼2800 years. Most of our 597 participants were sampled within Saudi Arabia itself, but ∼16% were sampled in the UK. Despite matching these two groups by home sub-region, we observed significant differences in haplotype and predicted haplogroup constitutions overall, and for most sub-regions individually. This suggests social structure influencing the probability of leaving Saudi Arabia, correlated with different Y-chromosome compositions. The UK-recruited sample is an inappropriate proxy for Saudi Arabia generally, and caution is needed when considering expatriate groups as representative of country of origin. Our study shows the importance of geographical and social structuring that may affect the utility of forensic databases and the interpretation of Y-STR profiles.

Any identification of haplogroups prior to J migration from the east. Arabic groups are high in Natufian autosomal lines-what was the source. Also interested in pre Islamic migration to the Levant from Arabia as well as Islamic migration

[ALASMI]

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/75bf9d67-c79e-4cfa-a98c-1b58229c4caf

[josh w.]

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/...c-1b58229c4caf

Thanks. The coastal regions (W&E) have more E1b1b than other parts of Arabia, where J appears in higher concentrations----E1b1b is older than J in the area. Agree that J1 probably migrated north from Arabia prior to the Islamic expansion as well as during the expansion. I doubt if it was during early Neolithic times since that was not the case for the Levant. On the other hand, the earliest non-African autosomal line was present in both Iran and the Levant (W&E Eib1b ?) during the early Neolithic.

[ALASMI]

[QUOTE=josh w On the other hand, the earliest non-African autosomal line was present in both Iran and the Levant (W&E Eib1b ?) during the early Neolithic.[/QUOTE]
Very useful information, thank you.
What do you think about haplogroup T? Is it older than J in Arabia and the Levant?

[josh w.]

Very useful information, thank you.
What do you think about haplogroup T? Is it older than J in Arabia and the Levant?

The basic research was done by the Harvard team directed by Lazaridis (2016). They found that the Neolithic era began in three places, Iran, the Levant (Natufians) and Asia Minor. In terms of autosomal dna, the three areas were distinct until 7000 kya (3000 years later) when admixture developed. In the early Levant only E1b1b was present with no J or T. Haber discovered Bronze Age Canaanite remains in Sidon. By that time eastern J lines were mixed in with Natufian lines. Lazaridis found R in the earliest Iranian samples. A few thousand years later J and G were found in the area. No mention of T. At present, Arabia has the highest rate of Natufian autosomal lines.

[josh w.]

The basic research was done by the Harvard team directed by Lazaridis (2016). They found that the Neolithic era began in three places, Iran, the Levant (Natufians) and Asia Minor. In terms of autosomal dna, the three areas were distinct until 7000 kya (3000 years later) when admixture developed. In the early Levant only E1b1b was present with no J or T. Haber discovered Bronze Age Canaanite remains in Sidon. By that time eastern J lines were mixed in with Natufian lines. Lazaridis found R in the earliest Iranian samples. A few thousand years later J and G were found in the area. No mention of T. At present, Arabia has the highest rate of Natufian autosomal lines.

Correction, J was found in Iran during the Mesolithic era prior to agriculture. No report of T.

[ALASMI]

Thank you very much josh w.

[tk421missing]

Thanks. The coastal regions (W&E) have more E1b1b than other parts of Arabia, where J appears in higher concentrations----E1b1b is older than J in the area. Agree that J1 probably migrated north from Arabia prior to the Islamic expansion as well as during the expansion. I doubt if it was during early Neolithic times since that was not the case for the Levant. On the other hand, the earliest non-African autosomal line was present in both Iran and the Levant (W&E Eib1b ?) during the early Neolithic.

Where in the paper does it say that E1b1b, in the area, is older than J1? It gives 4 possible TMRCA times for J1. They range from 2800 years ago to 23,000 years ago. The paper decides on a date of 2800. I cannot find TMRCA information for the E1b1b, of that area, in the report.

I can see E1b1b being clustered near the cities (dense population centers). While J1 is spread out over the entire nation. Since the great deserts of North Africa and the horn of Africa are mostly haplogroup E. It seems more likely that E1b1b merchants came from Africa to trade with the herdsmen of Saudi Arabia.

[ALASMI]

Homo sapiens in Arabia by 85,000 years ago

Understanding the timing and character of the expansion of Homo sapiens out of Africa is critical for inferring the colonization and admixture processes that underpin global population history. It has been argued that dispersal out of Africa had an early phase, particularly ~130–90 thousand years ago (ka), that reached only the East Mediterranean Levant, and a later phase, ~60–50 ka, that extended across the diverse environments of Eurasia to Sahul. However, recent findings from East Asia and Sahul challenge this model. Here we show that H. sapiens was in the Arabian Peninsula before 85 ka. We describe the Al Wusta-1 (AW-1) intermediate phalanx from the site of Al Wusta in the Nefud desert, Saudi Arabia. AW-1 is the oldest directly dated fossil of our species outside Africa and the Levant. The palaeoenvironmental context of Al Wusta demonstrates that H. sapiens using Middle Palaeolithic stone tools dispersed into Arabia during a phase of increased precipitation driven by orbital forcing, in association with a primarily African fauna. A Bayesian model incorporating independent chronometric age estimates indicates a chronology for Al Wusta of ~95–86 ka, which we correlate with a humid episode in the later part of Marine Isotope Stage 5 known from various regional records. Al Wusta shows that early dispersals were more spatially and temporally extensive than previously thought. Early H. sapiens dispersals out of Africa were not limited to winter rainfall-fed Levantine Mediterranean woodlands immediately adjacent to Africa, but extended deep into the semi-arid grasslands of Arabia, facilitated by periods of enhanced monsoonal rainfall.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-018-0518-2?error=cookies_not_supported&code=f9568945-a1a1-46a6-87f7-c57bc9392b75

[josh w.]

Understanding the timing and character of the expansion of Homo sapiens out of Africa is critical for inferring the colonization and admixture processes that underpin global population history. It has been argued that dispersal out of Africa had an early phase, particularly ~130–90 thousand years ago (ka), that reached only the East Mediterranean Levant, and a later phase, ~60–50 ka, that extended across the diverse environments of Eurasia to Sahul. However, recent findings from East Asia and Sahul challenge this model. Here we show that H. sapiens was in the Arabian Peninsula before 85 ka. We describe the Al Wusta-1 (AW-1) intermediate phalanx from the site of Al Wusta in the Nefud desert, Saudi Arabia. AW-1 is the oldest directly dated fossil of our species outside Africa and the Levant. The palaeoenvironmental context of Al Wusta demonstrates that H. sapiens using Middle Palaeolithic stone tools dispersed into Arabia during a phase of increased precipitation driven by orbital forcing, in association with a primarily African fauna. A Bayesian model incorporating independent chronometric age estimates indicates a chronology for Al Wusta of ~95–86 ka, which we correlate with a humid episode in the later part of Marine Isotope Stage 5 known from various regional records. Al Wusta shows that early dispersals were more spatially and temporally extensive than previously thought. Early H. sapiens dispersals out of Africa were not limited to winter rainfall-fed Levantine Mediterranean woodlands immediately adjacent to Africa, but extended deep into the semi-arid grasslands of Arabia, facilitated by periods of enhanced monsoonal rainfall.


https://www.nature.com/articles/s415...7-c57bc9392b75

Yes, the record of that period is not well understood. Modern humans have been in the Levant (Skhul-Israel) for over a 100,000 years. Arabic remains of that period would not be a surprise. The question is whether they left a legacy up to the present.

[dna]

Understanding the timing and character of the expansion of Homo sapiens out of Africa is critical for inferring the colonization and admixture processes that underpin global population history. It has been argued that dispersal out of Africa had an early phase, particularly ~130–90 thousand years ago (ka), that reached only the East Mediterranean Levant, and a later phase, ~60–50 ka, that extended across the diverse environments of Eurasia to Sahul. However, recent findings from East Asia and Sahul challenge this model. Here we show that H. sapiens was in the Arabian Peninsula before 85 ka. We describe the Al Wusta-1 (AW-1) intermediate phalanx from the site of Al Wusta in the Nefud desert, Saudi Arabia. AW-1 is the oldest directly dated fossil of our species outside Africa and the Levant. The palaeoenvironmental context of Al Wusta demonstrates that H. sapiens using Middle Palaeolithic stone tools dispersed into Arabia during a phase of increased precipitation driven by orbital forcing, in association with a primarily African fauna. A Bayesian model incorporating independent chronometric age estimates indicates a chronology for Al Wusta of ~95–86 ka, which we correlate with a humid episode in the later part of Marine Isotope Stage 5 known from various regional records. Al Wusta shows that early dispersals were more spatially and temporally extensive than previously thought. Early H. sapiens dispersals out of Africa were not limited to winter rainfall-fed Levantine Mediterranean woodlands immediately adjacent to Africa, but extended deep into the semi-arid grasslands of Arabia, facilitated by periods of enhanced monsoonal rainfall.


https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-018-0518-2

Tonight, I came to the forum with a very different purpose, but spent over an hour reading upon this interesting discovery. Thank you ALASMI !

Although my library does not subscribe to Nature Ecology & Evolution, I have read reviews that were published simultaneously and browsed through 100+ pages of the supplementary material.

Three things are clear

• no DNA whatsoever is possible,
• the authors took great care to prove the age of the found finger bones,
• and that the finger bones are Homo sapiens.

I guess we might never learn the true nature of ancient migrations, since the further we move in time either there are no fossils or the fossils found are more and more mineralized. The latter means that even with new discoveries we might not be able to determine whether a particular population contributed to ancestry of modern humans or that population vanished without leaving behind any genetic footprint. And even more so in determining cultural or economical legacy of that population. (OK, I do not know much about the Arabian Peninsula. However, I am assuming that ancient populations there could potentially be like European populations that suddenly vanished due to some disease or a natural disaster, or gradually vanished with a climate change like Norse Greenlanders did.)


Mr. W.