mtDNA from the early Bronze Age to the Roman period suggests a genetic link between the Indian subcontinent and Mesopotamian cradle of civilization

PLoS One. 2013 Sep 11;8(9):e73682. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0073682. eCollection 2013.

Abstract

Ancient DNA methodology was applied to analyse sequences extracted from freshly unearthed remains (teeth) of 4 individuals deeply deposited in slightly alkaline soil of the Tell Ashara (ancient Terqa) and Tell Masaikh (ancient Kar-Assurnasirpal) Syrian archaeological sites, both in the middle Euphrates valley. Dated to the period between 2.5 Kyrs BC and 0.5 Kyrs AD the studied individuals carried mtDNA haplotypes corresponding to the M4b1, M49 and/or M61 haplogroups, which are believed to have arisen in the area of the Indian subcontinent during the Upper Paleolithic and are absent in people living today in Syria. However, they are present in people inhabiting today's Tibet, Himalayas, India and Pakistan. We anticipate that the analysed remains from Mesopotamia belonged to people with genetic affinity to the Indian subcontinent since the distribution of identified ancient haplotypes indicates solid link with populations from the region of South Asia-Tibet (Trans-Himalaya). They may have been descendants of migrants from much earlier times, spreading the clades of the macrohaplogroup M throughout Eurasia and founding regional Mesopotamian groups like that of Terqa or just merchants moving along trade routes passing near or through the region. None of the successfully identified nuclear alleles turned out to be ΔF508 CFTR, LCT-13910T or Δ32 CCR5.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Archaeology
  • Base Sequence
  • Civilization*
  • DNA, Mitochondrial / chemistry
  • DNA, Mitochondrial / classification
  • DNA, Mitochondrial / genetics*
  • Emigration and Immigration
  • Female
  • Fossils
  • Genetic Variation
  • Genetics, Population*
  • Geography
  • Haplotypes / genetics*
  • Humans
  • India
  • Male
  • Mesopotamia
  • Pakistan
  • Phylogeny
  • Population Dynamics
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA
  • Syria
  • Tibet
  • Time Factors
  • Tooth / metabolism

Substances

  • DNA, Mitochondrial

Grants and funding

The work was funded by the scientific project no. N N109 286737 from the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education. Gyaneshwer Chaubey Ph.D. was supported by the Centre of Excellence of the Estonian Biocentre. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.