While the genetic history of Japan has been studied rather extensively in recent years, ancient remains from the neighboring Korean peninsula have remained almost completely unsampled until 2022. Luckily, Gelabert et al. (2022) and D-N Lee et al. (2022) brought an end to the complete drought of ancient Korean samples and featured newly sequenced ancient…
Tag: Haplogroup O
Tibeto-Burman expansions: high-altitude adaptation and Paleolithic legacy on the Tibetan Plateau
Humans have been living at extreme altitudes for a very long time. However, only a very small percentage of the planet’s population inhabit such places. Today, the largest communities of high-altitude dwellers reside on the Tibetan Plateau. These mountainous people are speakers of Tibeto-Burman languages which came to be spoken as a result of relatively…
Jōmon and Yayoi: the dual genetic origins of the Japanese
The island nation of Japan has a long and rich history that includes periods of relative isolation from the rest of the world. With the start of the Heian period in 794 AD, a distinct and unique Japanese culture had risen. A clan-based society with a strong literary culture and a centralized government, Japan’s early…
The genetic origins of the Polynesians
The Polynesian voyagers were undoubtedly some of the greatest sailors and navigators the world has ever seen. Using star signs, trade winds, ocean currents and even signs of animals in order to detect land, they were able to traverse massive distances in a short amount of time. This article will go through the genetic profile…