Yemen DNA study reveals widespread African mother descent
Researchers have released ground-breaking findings on the complex make-up of Yemeni DNA, revealing ancient links to East Africa, Arabia and the Levant, according to phys.org on January 6th.
Scientists at Khalifa University in the United Arab Emirates analysed whole genomes, and genotype arrays, from Yemeni individuals and neighbouring populations, finding a predominance of paternal DNA from the J1 haplogroup, associated with Arabia and the Levant.
Even more striking was the results from the mitochondrial DNA haplogroups, the maternal inheritance, which showed substantial links East Africa, through the presence of the L2a1 haplogroup.
That Yemen has historically served as a crossroads between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, a node on the vast spice and incense networks, is well documented, but the parental component to the study reveals greater disparities than once thought.
Gene flow analysis revealed two major migration events, one from around 5,220 years ago, involving populations from Palestine and another about 750 years ago, accounting for a surge in East African DNA.
This aligns the Levantine contributions with the Bronze Age, when important urban centres are thought to have been established, among which are the sites of Sabir and Ma’laybah, as well as a flourishing trade route along the Red Sea coast line of the Arabian Peninsula.
The later East African component may reflect the region’s long and intense involvement in slavery, with many African women likely to have been sexually exploited.
While white male slaves were often forced to undergo castration, enslaved women frequently joined harems.
Nurtured by Islamic law, which legitimised children born from these relationships, decreeing offspring as free and guaranteeing inheritance rights, these practices were rife in Yemeni society.
In around a third of Yemen’s population an unbroken chain of East African mothers persists.
Supporting the slave trade theory is the finding that coastal regions displayed a stronger African admixture, while inland areas exhibited greater correlations with Arabia and the Levant.
Though Yemen’s roots may lie to its east, any accurate depiction of its genetic make-up must surely now recognise the major contribution of Africa.
Phys.org
