Ancient DNA from the skeletons of Roopkund Lake reveals Mediterranean migrants in India

• Published in: Nature communications 2019-08, Vol.10 (1), p.3670-10, Article 3670
• Main Authors: Harney, Éadaoin, Nayak, Ayushi, Patterson, Nick, Joglekar, Pramod, Mushrif-Tripathy, Veena, Mallick, Swapan, Rohland, Nadin, Sedig, Jakob, Adamski, Nicole, Bernardos, Rebecca, Broomandkhoshbacht, Nasreen, Culleton, Brendan J., Ferry, Matthew, Harper, Thomas K., Michel, Megan, Oppenheimer, Jonas, Stewardson, Kristin, Zhang, Zhao, Harashawaradhana, Bartwal, Maanwendra Singh, Kumar, Sachin, Diyundi, Subhash Chandra, Roberts, Patrick, Boivin, Nicole, Kennett, Douglas J., Thangaraj, Kumarasamy, Reich, David, Rai, Niraj
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 45; 45/23; 631/181/27; 631/208/457/649; Archaeology; Body Remains - cytology; Carbon dating; Continental Population Groups - genetics; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Diet; DNA; DNA - genetics; Evolutionary biology; Fossils; Genetic engineering; Genomes; Human Migration; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; India; Lakes; Measuring instruments; Mediterranean Region; Migrants; Mountains; multidisciplinary; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide - genetics; Radiocarbon dating; Radiometric Dating; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Sea level; Stable isotopes
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-11357-9

Situated at over 5,000 meters above sea level in the Himalayan Mountains, Roopkund Lake is home to the scattered skeletal remains of several hundred individuals of unknown origin. We report genome-wide ancient DNA for 38 skeletons from Roopkund Lake, and find that they cluster into three distinct groups. A group of 23 individuals have ancestry that falls within the range of variation of present-day South Asians. A further 14 have ancestry typical of the eastern Mediterranean. We also identify one individual with Southeast Asian-related ancestry. Radiocarbon dating indicates that these remains were not deposited simultaneously. Instead, all of the individuals with South Asian-related ancestry date to ~800 CE (but with evidence of being deposited in more than one event), while all other individuals date to ~1800 CE. These differences are also reflected in stable isotope measurements, which reveal a distinct dietary profile for the two main groups. Remains of several hundred humans are scattered around Roopkund Lake, situated over 5,000 meters above sea level in the Himalayan Mountains. Here the authors analyze genome-wide data from 38 skeletons and find 3 clusters with different ancestries and dates, showing the people were desposited in multiple catastrophic events.