epoch
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Hi forum,
Recently genetic information from two mesolithic hunter-gatherer burials from La Brana in northern Spain has been published. I have read a number of articles about it and I am confused by the results. The main reason for my confusion lies in the fact that the la Brana skeleton seem related to northern Europe rather than the current day local Iberian population. The two carried mtDNA U5b2c1 which is not very abundant in current day Iberia - neither is any U5 - and the full sequence show relation to northern European population rather than local. The results are presented as evidence for a large population overhaul during the Neolithic transition in Iberia.
http://dienekes.blogspot.nl/2012/06/mesolithic-iberians-la-brana-arintero.html
http://eurogenes.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/brana-1-had-blue-eyes.html
Mesolithic and upper paleolithic mtDNA recovered until recently is mostly U4 and U5, and we do have quite a number of finds.
http://www.eupedia.com/europe/ancient_european_dna.shtml
http://www.ancestraljourneys.org/ancientdna.shtml
The autosomal genetic relation with northern Europe is all good and well were it that northern European population, which the la Brana autosomal DNA is clearly related to, would have carried lots U5. That is true for Finland, the Saami and the Baltic region - although in the latter U, U4 + U5 does not exceed the 21% - but it isn't true for most of the northwestern European culture, including Sweden, Denmark and Norway. There have been Farmers from the neolithic have been sequenced as well as hunter-gatherers from the Pitted Ware culture, found on Gotland. Mitochondrial DNA showed greet difference between the mainland Swedes and the hunter-gatherers, presented as evidence for.. you guessed it: a population overhaul in Sweden after the arrival of the neolithic.
http://ac.els-cdn.com/S096098220901...t=1387632483_de9e8b5f85e80f8936c82a48bacac689
However, autosomal DNA between the northerners with and those without a strong U5 presence hardly differs. Also, phenotypes are remarkably similar. And the autosomal admixture is mostly north European in both Finnish and Swedish samples. Even both the la Brana and the Gotland Pitted Ware samples show autosomical relation to Swedish and Saami rather than Saami.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F9XoyN2wE-w/ToZBZZT7jdI/AAAAAAAAAmI/qwmGu64Xvwk/s1600/admixture.png
http://fennoscandia.blogspot.nl/2013/09/la-brana-2-and-modern-european-variation.html
http://fennoscandia.blogspot.nl/201...n-variation-ii.html?showComment=1383942706763
This is very strange. Autosomal evidence points to relation between mesolithic hunter-gatherers and current day northwest Europeans, whereas mtDNA points to a population overhaul. We pretty much know mesolithic and paleolithic hunter-gatherers had mostly mtDNA U (U, U4, U5) which is not very common nowadays.
How can this both be true? How can the northwest European population - a population which wikipedia describes as almost genetically indistinguishable - bear such genetic resemblance to hunter-gatherers if they aren't related to them, as the great difference in mtDNA suggests?
More links:
http://forwhattheywereweare.blogspot.nl/2010/11/ancient-mtdna-advance-maps.html
http://eurogenes.blogspot.nl/2013/02/post-mesolithic-population.html
Recently genetic information from two mesolithic hunter-gatherer burials from La Brana in northern Spain has been published. I have read a number of articles about it and I am confused by the results. The main reason for my confusion lies in the fact that the la Brana skeleton seem related to northern Europe rather than the current day local Iberian population. The two carried mtDNA U5b2c1 which is not very abundant in current day Iberia - neither is any U5 - and the full sequence show relation to northern European population rather than local. The results are presented as evidence for a large population overhaul during the Neolithic transition in Iberia.
http://dienekes.blogspot.nl/2012/06/mesolithic-iberians-la-brana-arintero.html
http://eurogenes.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/brana-1-had-blue-eyes.html
Mesolithic and upper paleolithic mtDNA recovered until recently is mostly U4 and U5, and we do have quite a number of finds.
http://www.eupedia.com/europe/ancient_european_dna.shtml
http://www.ancestraljourneys.org/ancientdna.shtml
The autosomal genetic relation with northern Europe is all good and well were it that northern European population, which the la Brana autosomal DNA is clearly related to, would have carried lots U5. That is true for Finland, the Saami and the Baltic region - although in the latter U, U4 + U5 does not exceed the 21% - but it isn't true for most of the northwestern European culture, including Sweden, Denmark and Norway. There have been Farmers from the neolithic have been sequenced as well as hunter-gatherers from the Pitted Ware culture, found on Gotland. Mitochondrial DNA showed greet difference between the mainland Swedes and the hunter-gatherers, presented as evidence for.. you guessed it: a population overhaul in Sweden after the arrival of the neolithic.
http://ac.els-cdn.com/S096098220901...t=1387632483_de9e8b5f85e80f8936c82a48bacac689
However, autosomal DNA between the northerners with and those without a strong U5 presence hardly differs. Also, phenotypes are remarkably similar. And the autosomal admixture is mostly north European in both Finnish and Swedish samples. Even both the la Brana and the Gotland Pitted Ware samples show autosomical relation to Swedish and Saami rather than Saami.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F9XoyN2wE-w/ToZBZZT7jdI/AAAAAAAAAmI/qwmGu64Xvwk/s1600/admixture.png
http://fennoscandia.blogspot.nl/2013/09/la-brana-2-and-modern-european-variation.html
http://fennoscandia.blogspot.nl/201...n-variation-ii.html?showComment=1383942706763
This is very strange. Autosomal evidence points to relation between mesolithic hunter-gatherers and current day northwest Europeans, whereas mtDNA points to a population overhaul. We pretty much know mesolithic and paleolithic hunter-gatherers had mostly mtDNA U (U, U4, U5) which is not very common nowadays.
How can this both be true? How can the northwest European population - a population which wikipedia describes as almost genetically indistinguishable - bear such genetic resemblance to hunter-gatherers if they aren't related to them, as the great difference in mtDNA suggests?
More links:
http://forwhattheywereweare.blogspot.nl/2010/11/ancient-mtdna-advance-maps.html
http://eurogenes.blogspot.nl/2013/02/post-mesolithic-population.html