RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 The maternal genetic history of the Angolan Namib Desert: a key region for understanding the peopling of southern Africa
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 162230
DO 10.1101/162230
A1 Sandra Oliveira
A1 Anne-Maria Fehn
A1 Teresa Aço
A1 Fernanda Lages
A1 Magdalena Gayá-Vidal
A1 Brigitte Pakendorf
A1 Mark Stoneking
A1 Jorge Rocha
YR 2017
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/07/11/162230.abstract
AB Southern Angola is a poorly studied region, inhabited by populations that have been associated with different migratory movements into southern Africa. Besides the long-standing presence of indigenous Kx’a-speaking foragers and the more recent arrival of Bantu-speaking pastoralists, ethnographic and linguistic studies have suggested that other pre-Bantu communities were also present in the Namib desert, including peripatetic groups like the Kwepe (formerly Kwadi speakers), Twa and Kwisi. Here we evaluate previous peopling hypotheses by analyzing the relationships between seven groups from the Namib desert (Kuvale, Himba, Tjimba, Kwisi, Twa, Kwepe) and Kunene Province (!Xun), based on newly collected linguistic data and 295 complete mtDNA genomes. We found that: i) all groups from the Namib desert have genealogically-consistent matriclanic systems that had a strong impact on their maternal genetic structure by enhancing genetic drift and population differentiation; ii) the dominant pastoral groups represented by the Kuvale and Himba were part of a Bantu proto-population that also included the ancestors of present-day Damara and Herero peoples from Namibia; iii) Tjimba are closely related to the Himba; iv) the Kwepe, Twa and Kwisi have a divergent Bantu-related mtDNA profile and probably stem from a single population that does not show clear signs of being a pre-Bantu indigenous group. Taken together, our results suggest that the maternal genetic structure of the different groups from the Namib desert is largely derived from endogamous Bantu peoples, and that their social stratification and different subsistence patterns are not indicative of remnant groups, but reflect Bantu-internal variation and ethnogenesis.