BaTwa populations from Zambia retain ancestry of past hunter-gatherer groups

Gwenna Breton (), Lawrence Barham, George Mudenda, Himla Soodyall, Carina M. Schlebusch and Mattias Jakobsson ()
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Gwenna Breton: Uppsala University
Lawrence Barham: University of Liverpool
George Mudenda: Livingstone Museum
Himla Soodyall: University of the Witwatersrand and National Health Laboratory Service
Carina M. Schlebusch: Uppsala University
Mattias Jakobsson: Uppsala University

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: Abstract Sub-equatorial Africa is today inhabited predominantly by Bantu-speaking groups of Western African descent who brought agriculture to the Luangwa valley in eastern Zambia ~2000 years ago. Before their arrival the area was inhabited by hunter-gatherers, who in many cases were subsequently replaced, displaced or assimilated. In Zambia, we know little about the genetic affinities of these hunter-gatherers. We examine ancestry of two isolated communities in Zambia, known as BaTwa and possible descendants of recent hunter-gatherers. We genotype over two million genome-wide SNPs from two BaTwa populations (total of 80 individuals) and from three comparative farming populations to: (i) determine if the BaTwa carry genetic links to past hunter-gatherer-groups, and (ii) characterise the genetic affinities of past Zambian hunter-gatherer-groups. The BaTwa populations do harbour a hunter-gatherer-like genetic ancestry and Western African ancestry. The hunter-gatherer component is a unique local signature, intermediate between current-day Khoe-San ancestry from southern Africa and central African rainforest hunter-gatherer ancestry.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-50733-y

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