title: Static and moving frontiers: the genetic landscape of Southern African Bantu-speaking populations.
abstract: A consensus on Bantu-speaking populations being genetically similar has emerged in the last few years, but the demographic scenarios associated with their dispersal are still a matter of debate. The frontier model proposed by archeologists postulates different degrees of interaction among incoming agropastoralist and resident foraging groups in the presence of "static" and "moving" frontiers. By combining mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosome data collected from several southern African populations, we show that Bantu-speaking populations from regions characterized by a moving frontier developing after a long-term static frontier have larger hunter-gatherer contributions than groups from areas where a static frontier was not followed by further spatial expansion. Differences in the female and male components suggest that the process of assimilation of the long-term resident groups into agropastoralist societies was gender biased. Our results show that the diffusion of Bantu languages and culture in Southern Africa was a process more complex than previously described and suggest that the admixture dynamics between farmers and foragers played an important role in shaping the current patterns of genetic diversity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Sarah J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Marks
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom Institute of Legal Medicine, Catholic University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Montinaro
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Hila
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Levy
authors.affiliation: Institute of Legal Medicine, Catholic University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Brisighelli
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento ad Attività Integrata di Laboratori, Anatomia Patologica, Medicina Legale, U.O. Struttura Complessa di Medicina Legale, Azienda Ospedaliero, Universitaria di Modena, Modena, Italy.
authors.forename: Gianmarco
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ferri
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bertoncini
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Batini
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: George B J
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Busby
authors.affiliation: School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Arthur
authors.affiliation: School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.affiliation: Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan.
authors.forename: Brian A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia.
authors.forename: Ockie
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Oosthuizen
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia.
authors.forename: Erica
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Oosthuizen
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Department, Forensic DNA Laboratory, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, South Africa.
authors.forename: Maria Eugenia
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: D'Amato
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Department, Forensic DNA Laboratory, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, South Africa.
authors.forename: Sean
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Davison
authors.affiliation: Institute of Legal Medicine, Catholic University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pascali
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom cristian.capelli@zoo.ox.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Cristian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Capelli
mesh_terms: D000353:Africa, Southern / Q000208:ethnology; D044383:Black People / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000235:genetics*; D041322:Chromosomes, Human, Y / Q000235:genetics*; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D012044:Regression Analysis
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial
keywords: Y chromosome; admixture; frontier model; mtDNA; “Bantu expansion”