Nilgiri tribes show ancient links to North Asia
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Researchers studying three tribal groups, the Toda, Kota, and Kurumba, in the Nilgiri Hills of India discovered previously unknown genetic divisions within the Kota and Kurumba populations.
Genetic analysis revealed that the Toda people are the most genetically distinct of the three groups.
The study compared the genomes of these tribes to a wider range of Eurasian populations, identifying multiple ancestral streams contributing to their genetic makeup, including influences from the Onge people of the Andaman Islands, populations related to the Indus Periphery, and those from the Western Steppe Bronze Age.
The researchers found a shared genetic component between Kurumba and Kota people, as well as the Gaud people of India and the Vedda people of Sri Lanka, suggesting a shared ancestry across the southern Indian Ocean region. Analysis of mitochondrial DNA, genetic material passed down through the maternal line, showed evidence of founder effects, where a small number of ancestors strongly influenced the genetic diversity of each group.
Notably, the Kurumba people carry a rare genetic lineage, C4a2c1, which researchers traced back to North Asia and Siberia, estimating it arrived in the Indian subcontinent around 7,000 years ago. This suggests long-distance migration and genetic mixing occurred during the early to mid Holocene period, followed by the groups becoming isolated and developing their own unique genetic characteristics.
