Ancient West African foragers in the context of African population history

Mark Lipson (), Isabelle Ribot, Swapan Mallick, Nadin Rohland, Iñigo Olalde, Nicole Adamski, Nasreen Broomandkhoshbacht, Ann Marie Lawson, Saioa López, Jonas Oppenheimer, Kristin Stewardson, Raymond Neba’ane Asombang, Hervé Bocherens, Neil Bradman, Brendan J. Culleton, Els Cornelissen, Isabelle Crevecoeur, Pierre Maret, Forka Leypey Mathew Fomine, Philippe Lavachery, Christophe Mbida Mindzie, Rosine Orban, Elizabeth Sawchuk, Patrick Semal, Mark G. Thomas, Wim Neer, Krishna R. Veeramah, Douglas J. Kennett, Nick Patterson, Garrett Hellenthal, Carles Lalueza-Fox, Scott MacEachern, Mary E. Prendergast and David Reich
Additional contact information
Mark Lipson: Harvard Medical School
Isabelle Ribot: Université de Montréal
Swapan Mallick: Harvard Medical School
Nadin Rohland: Harvard Medical School
Iñigo Olalde: Harvard Medical School
Nicole Adamski: Harvard Medical School
Nasreen Broomandkhoshbacht: Harvard Medical School
Ann Marie Lawson: Harvard Medical School
Saioa López: University College London
Jonas Oppenheimer: Harvard Medical School
Kristin Stewardson: Harvard Medical School
Raymond Neba’ane Asombang: University of Yaoundé I
Hervé Bocherens: Biogeology, University of Tübingen
Neil Bradman: University College London
Brendan J. Culleton: Pennsylvania State University
Els Cornelissen: Royal Museum for Central Africa
Isabelle Crevecoeur: CNRS, UMR 5199-PACEA, Université de Bordeaux
Pierre Maret: Université Libre de Bruxelles
Forka Leypey Mathew Fomine: University of Buea
Philippe Lavachery: Service Public de Wallonie
Christophe Mbida Mindzie: University of Yaoundé I
Rosine Orban: Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
Elizabeth Sawchuk: Stony Brook University
Patrick Semal: Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
Mark G. Thomas: University College London
Wim Neer: Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
Krishna R. Veeramah: Stony Brook University
Douglas J. Kennett: University of California
Nick Patterson: Harvard Medical School
Garrett Hellenthal: University College London
Carles Lalueza-Fox: Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-UPF)
Scott MacEachern: Duke Kunshan University
Mary E. Prendergast: Harvard Medical School
David Reich: Harvard Medical School

Nature, 2020, vol. 577, issue 7792, 665-670

Abstract: Abstract Our knowledge of ancient human population structure in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly prior to the advent of food production, remains limited. Here we report genome-wide DNA data from four children—two of whom were buried approximately 8,000 years ago and two 3,000 years ago—from Shum Laka (Cameroon), one of the earliest known archaeological sites within the probable homeland of the Bantu language group1–11. One individual carried the deeply divergent Y chromosome haplogroup A00, which today is found almost exclusively in the same region12,13. However, the genome-wide ancestry profiles of all four individuals are most similar to those of present-day hunter-gatherers from western Central Africa, which implies that populations in western Cameroon today—as well as speakers of Bantu languages from across the continent—are not descended substantially from the population represented by these four people. We infer an Africa-wide phylogeny that features widespread admixture and three prominent radiations, including one that gave rise to at least four major lineages deep in the history of modern humans.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-1929-1

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