Some new insights in the phylogeny of Y-DNA E1b1

There is a brand new paper on Y-DNA haplogroup E1b1:

B. Trombetta et al., A New Topology of the Human Y Chromosome Haplogroup E1b1 (E-P2) Revealed through the Use of Newly Characterized Binary Polymorphisms. PLoS ONE 2011. Open access.

The new phylogeny is available in the graphic at the left (B, click to expand). And it includes the following changes:

Haplogroup reorganization

E1b1c is now known to be part of a shared upstream haplogroup with E1b1a, which become E1b1a2 and E1b1a1, respectively. In this clade a new downstream haplogroup is also described by the name E1b1a1g1d (V39).

The other haplogroup E1b1b, also sees some changes in its downstream clades: two new small subclades are described: E1b1b1f (V42) and E1b1b1g (V92).  Former E1b1b1f (P72) becomes now part of the somewhat larger haplogroup E1b1b1e (M293). Also a new small clade is described by the SNP V23 and named E1b1b1c1c.

In this major lineage, maybe more intriguing is the finding that the two haplogroups with notable presence in Europe, are now subsumed into larger clades: E1b1b1a (V68) and E1b1b1b (V257). These two haplogroups are notable because:

Within E-M35, there are striking parallels between two haplogroups, E-V68 and E-V257. Both contain a lineage which has been frequently observed in Africa (E-M78 and E-M81, respectively) [6], [8], [10], [13]–[16] and a group of undifferentiated chromosomes that are mostly found in southern Europe (Table S2). An expansion of E-M35 carriers, possibly from the Middle East as proposed by other Authors [14], and split into two branches separated by the geographic barrier of the Mediterranean Sea, would explain this geographic pattern. However, the absence of E-V68* and E-V257* in the Middle East (Table S2) makes a maritime spread between northern Africa and southern Europe a more plausible hypothesis.

How can this be?

This is most intriguing, really. And it is worth hence considering which populations harbor these two paraphyletic clusters:

• E-V68* (E1b1b1a*) is found only in Sardinians.
• E-V257* (E1b1b1b*) is found (at low frequencies) in a larger array of populations: Iberians (Cantabrians and Andalusians), Corsicans, Sardinians, Marrakesh Berbers and Borana (Oromo) from Kenya.

For comparison with their larger sister clades (and in general Y-DNA E), I include here fig. 1 from Semino 2004, after annotated current YSOGG nomenclature (in red) and, where needed, the new proposed nomenclature of this paper (in blue):

Notice that the actual distribution of these lineages is somewhat imprecise, for example, if you look at the more detailed compilation by Argiedude, you will notice that E-M81 in Iberia has a mostly Western distribution, with some presence in the East but very low in the SE, it is not the simplistic South-North cline depicted above (E-M78 follows a very similar pattern). It may be the same in other areas. 

I would think that this maritime migration proposed for these two paragroups, is highly suggestive of a flow into Iberia in the context of the Oranian (or Iberomaurusian) culture genesis in North Africa and the related changes (back-tip and wings in arrow heads notably) in the Iberian Gravetto-Solutrean complex, which influenced West Iberia up to Asturias but not for example the Basque area, which remained closer to the Aquitanian and Occitan Solutrean (a purer variant of this techno-culture, not influenced by Gravettian, which appears intrusive in any case, nor the Aterian-Dabban North African substrate). 

As I have said before in many occasions, I strongly suspect that this prehistorical episode is responsible for the mtDNA H and V in North Africa, as well as from mtDNA U6 and probably also some L(xM,N) in Iberia. 

Similarly it is probable that the small presence of Y-DNA R1b and I in North Africa (which must be somewhat old if we have to judge from the Guanche mummies DNA) and the presence of Y-DNA E1b1 in Iberia (with "strange" extension towards the NW specially) dates from this Paleolithic episode, which happened around the Last Glacial Maximum.

The flow to Corsica and Sardinia might well be of Megalithic age. 

I must admit that just a few years ago I would have been most surprised if anyone would have told me that the presence of African lineages in Iberia and other European locations was a proof of the deep Paleolithic roots of European Y-DNA (and mtDNA). Nobody told me... but it seems it is the case.

Overall haplogroup E distribution

Just for the reference, I am closing this brief review with a map of the overall distribution of haplogroup E, taken from Chiaroni 2009:

Notice how the European and West Asian presence of this major haplogroup is just an epiphenomenon in an otherwise clearly African clade.

Video: Magdalenian astronomy (in Spanish)

This video (51'36'') is sadly only available online in Spanish language in spite of having been shot originally in English (titles) and French (language of most of the people appearing in it). It deals with the research by French astronomer Chantal Jegues-Wolkiewiez of the astronomical knowledge of ancient Paleolithic people of what is now Southern France.

[Note: an English-language copy seems to be available for purchase HERE]

Synthesis:

Sagittarius and Scorpio?

She began her research at the Southern Alps where she discovered that the dagger symbols on a stone indicate the rise of the Sun in the Autumn equinox. Eventually she began also researching caves from the heart of Paleolithic Europe: Dordogne (near modern Bordeaux), discovering that all or nearly all the caves with paintings have a clear solar orientation, being illuminated in either an equinox or a solstice. She also found several indications that the cycles of the Moon were being recorded as well.

Most fascinating (and controversial) is anyhow her claim that the famous paints of Lascaux represent the zodiacal constellations as perceived by the ancients. This last claim is however met with scepticism by many prehistorians, even if some also sympathize with her view. Paradigm-shaking in any case. 

Found at Pileta de Prehistoria.

Note: a similar claim was staked for the paintings of not less famous Altamira cave in modern Cantabria, Spain, in the book Arqueoastronomía Hispana, which also deals with other archaeoastronomical research in the Iberian Peninsula and the Canary Islands.

Video: Armenia's "Stonehenge"

An interesting CNN video on which may be the oldest stone ring of the world, in modern day Armenia:

From Pileta de Prehistoria.

Some rock art of Australia does not retain any paint but pigmented microbes

This is quite unexpected and rather shocking: rock art from Bradshaw, West Australia, keeps no paint all, but remains  drawn and visible because of microbes of red and black colors which have colonized the painted area. 

This makes dating the paintings almost impossible because they are alive, literally so. However the possibility of indirect dating using DNA sequencing remains open.

The implicated microbes are a black fungus and a red bacteria whose species are yet to be identified but which apparently survive cannibalizing their ancestors.

Amplified boundary of a a drawing

Sources: Antiquity, BBC, Stone Pages

Green wet Sahara

Happy new year, by the way.

I want to call your attention to a post by Razib in which he reviews a new paper on the archaeology of transitional Pleistocene-Holocene "wet Sahara", including many interesting maps and quotes from the original paper, which is:

Nick A. Drake et al., Ancient watercourses and biogeography of the Sahara explain the peopling of the desert. PNAS 2010. Pay per view (depending on world region and at worst for six months only).

I won't comment on it at least until it becomes freely available but the maps are quite interesting, as is the suggestion that this lush scenario may have been related to the flow of Nilo-Saharan languages (and some genetic packages probably associated with them).


Update (Jan 3): another review can be found at LiveScience.

Before I forget again: I found the reference for L2 among the Sakai (Semang) - M51a1 probably in fact

This is something that has shown up in some discussions and I had totally forgotten where I had found this reference of one Negrito from the Malay Peninsula with an L2 lineage. It is from Tanaka 2004 (table 2).

It might be a misclassification but in any case there it is. If correct, it could be a remnant from the less lucky lineages which also took part in the Eurasian colonization, along M and N but were drifted out.

Just for the record.


Update: misclassification almost certain: checking the sequence, which is a mere HVS-I one, always confsing, I realize that it lacks a key mutation defining L2  at 16390 and the other HVS-I site at the root of L2 is identical to the one of L3 (site 16311 towards CRS in both cases). Then checking within L3, I soon found that M51a1, a South Asian haplogroup, I believe, is at least as likely to correspond to the sequence described:

"Also striking is the presence in Sakai of an unequivocal representative (16223–16274–16278–16294–16309) of the sub-Saharan African L2a haplogroup (Torroni et al. 2001)"...

I did not check further because I realize now it is surely a case of misidentification because of excessive reliance on HVS-I, which is not enough in most cases to describe a haplogroup with safety. 

Related posts: Leherensuge: Are we overlooking the signature of the Out of Africa?

Conservative brains are full of fear

Fans of the classical (but probably incorrect) blank slate hypothesis of the human brain won't like this: new research (not yet published at a peer review journal, will be in the near future) has found that conservative people have a larger amygdala, a primitive almond-shaped part of the brain responsible for fear and anxiety.

It is unclear if this physical/neurological trait is caused by the ideology, which is clearly based on fear of any change and attachment to some learned values, or if, inversely, it is the biological trait which causes conservative ideology. Different research, earlier this year found that people with more liberal ideology tend to share a variant of the DRD4 gene, which may be a cause of openness to novel ideas (which in turn may increase adaptability, as hyper-specialists invariably go extinct in the long term).

Source: Salon. 

Also, in regard to the role played by the amygdala in fear, you may be interested in this story (another scientific research) about a woman whose amygdalas were destroyed by a disease and who feels no fear whatsoever (what also has its downsides: fear is a natural emotion or instinct that plays a clear role in survival).

Additionally, Razib mentions today that conservatives (in the USA) tend to be fatter than average. Maybe they have to compensate for their quasi-permanent state of panic by giving themselves continuous treats?


Update (Jan 13): Amygdala stores "Pavlovian fear conditioning"  according to the latest PLoS ONE paper on the matter by H.G. Bergstrom and colleagues.