Inferring the Demographic History of African Farmers and Pygmy Hunter–Gatherers Using a Multilocus Resequencing Data Set

摘要: The transition from hunting and gathering to farming involved a major cultural innovation that has spread rapidly over most of the globe in last ten millennia. In sub-Saharan Africa, hunter-gatherers have begun shift toward an agriculture-based lifestyle 5,000 years. Only few populations still base their mode subsistence on gathering. Pygmies are considered be largest group mobile Africa. They dwell equatorial rainforests characterized by short mean stature. However, little is known about chronology demographic events-size changes, population splits, gene flow--ultimately giving rise contemporary Pygmy (Western Eastern) groups neighboring agricultural populations. We studied branching history Africa estimated separation times flow between these resequenced 24 independent noncoding regions across genome, corresponding total approximately 33 kb per individual, 236 samples seven five dispersed African continent. used simulation-based inference identify historical model best fitting our data. identified included early divergence ancestors 60,000 years ago, followed split Pygmies' into Western Eastern 20,000 ago. Our findings increase knowledge peopling continent region lacking archaeological An appreciation adaptive with different modes should improve understanding influence human lifestyles genome diversity.