MtDNA analysis of global populations support that major population expansions began before Neolithic Time.
Agriculture resulted in extensive population growths and human activities. However, whether major human expansions started after Neolithic Time still remained controversial. With the benefit of 1000 Genome Project, we were able to analyze a total of 910 samples from 11 populations in Africa, Europe and Americas. From these random samples, we identified the expansion lineages and reconstructed the historical demographic variations. In all the three continents, we found that most major lineage expansions (11 out of 15 star lineages in Africa, all autochthonous lineages in Europe and America) coalesced before the first appearance of agriculture. Furthermore, major population expansions were estimated after Last Glacial Maximum but before Neolithic Time, also corresponding to the result of major lineage expansions. Considering results in current and previous study, global mtDNA evidence showed that rising temperature after Last Glacial Maximum offered amiable environments and might be the most important factor for prehistorical human expansions.
MOE Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology and Center for Evolutionary Biology, School of Life Sciences and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Hong-Xiang
HX
Zheng
Shi
S
Yan
Zhen-Dong
ZD
Qin
Li
L
Jin
D000349:Africa; D000569:Americas; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D003710:Demography; D005060:Europe; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population; D006239:Haplotypes / Q000235:genetics; D016045:Human Genome Project; D006801:Humans; D011157:Population Dynamics
D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial