A large-scale genetic analysis drawing on a Gujarat-specific database and focusing on maternal lineages has traced the region’s population history from the last Ice Age to the Harappan period. It has concluded that despite repeated cultural transitions and limited external gene flow, the matrilineal genetic structure has remained largely stable for 40,000 years.
The analysis published by a national daily examines mitochondrial DNA rather than paternal markers.
The study concludes that Gujarat’s population history reflects continuity punctuated by small, staggered movements rather than large-scale demographic upheavals.
The study was conducted by a team of 16 researchers from nine institutions in India and abroad and found that about 76% (or nearly three-fourths) of the total DNA haplotypes, or genetic markers, identified in the region were from South Asia or were local in nature.
The researchers described it as one of the few widespread studies focusing on ancient genetics in the region.
The findings were published in a paper titled Maternal Genetic Ancestry of Gujarat: A Pleistocene Passage to India by Shailesh Desai, Mohammed HM Alqaisi, Prajjval Pratap Singh, and others, in the latest edition of the American Journal of Biological Anthropology published by Wiley.
According to the study, the remaining 24% of DNA haplotypes showed non-local origins, with about 21% traced to West Eurasia and 0.6% to East Eurasia. Of the West Eurasian component, around 19% was estimated to have entered the region within the past 5,000 years.
Taken together, the analysis suggested that about 81% of the genes identified in Gujarat predated the proposed steppe migration. The genetic markers were also found to reflect cultural and population exchanges between regions occurring in multiple waves.
One of the key conclusions of the study was that the genetic evidence did not support the Aryan Invasion Theory from a maternal lineage perspective.
According to the news report, the lead author, Shailesh Desai of Banaras Hindu University (BHU), indicated that the data showed no evidence of significant maternal gene flow or demographic upheaval during the alleged Indo-Aryan period.
He said the findings instead pointed to small, staggered movements of populations spread over tens of thousands of years, resulting in an enduring indigenous maternal genetic foundation rather than large-scale replacement or conquest.
The research was based on an analysis of 168 complete mitochondrial genomes from individuals in the Gujarat region and was supplemented with 529 additional genetic sequences from across South Asia and Eurasia.
Dr Bhargav Patel, associate professor at the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) and a co-author of the study, reportedly said the genetic analysis showed no major disruptions in maternal genetic markers during key historical events, including the collapse of the Harappan civilisation.
Dr Patel also explained that the research design was built on a Gujarat-specific genetic database compiled earlier.
He noted that migration studies often focus on patrilineal ancestry, but local population histories are better examined through matrilineal analysis, as women tend to be more stationary, while genetic branches spread more widely through marital relationships.
The researchers detailed that regional origins were inferred using haplogroups, which are larger genetic groupings associated with specific geographic areas. The study found that haplogroups linked to West Eurasia (H, HV, T, W and U) were present at lower frequencies compared to South Asia-specific haplogroups such as M (48%), R (28.5%) and U (14%).
The Aryan Invasion has often been associated with haplogroup H2B, which the study found to be present at low frequency and dated to around 6,200 years ago.
Another author of the study, Prof. Gyaneshwar Chaubey, reportedly said that gene flow occurred in both directions. He noted that maternal lineages originating in South Asia were also identified in West Eurasia, citing the example of the M33a haplogroup from India merging with an Iranian branch approximately 18,000 years ago.
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