(From left) Brokpa, Monpa, Changpa communities of Ladakh.
Ladakh is a high-altitude area, characterised by an alternating valley-range configuration with advanced terrain and micro-climates working over the terrain-facets and snowfall. The altitude varies from about 3000 metres in Kargil to greater than 8000 metres in Karakoram.
It lies at a strategic location between the Indus River valley and the Hindukhush Mountains, which makes this “Land of high passes” one of the key routes for motion of people. Through the years, the area has confronted multi-layered cultural actions, genetic assimilation and demographic modifications.
The preliminary settlement within the years goes again to the early Neolithic age (12,000 years in the past) and nonetheless continues regardless of its harsh, inhospitable and chilly local weather. In a primary high-throughput mitochondrial DNA examine, scientists led by JC Bose Fellow, CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) Kumarasamy Thangaraj and Niraj Rai, senior scientist, DST-Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP), Lucknow, have unravelled the genetic historical past of the Ladakhi inhabitants.
After analysing DNA of 108 people from three main communities — Brokpa, Changpa and Monpa of Ladakh — they in contrast the DNA sequence of Ladakh populations with fashionable and historic DNA sequences from South Asia, East Asia, Tibet and West Eurasia, and corroborated their findings with archaeological and historic information. “The maternal genetic lineages of the Brokpa, Changpa and Monpa populations of Ladakh region are related to lineages that are commonly found in South Asia, East Asia, and Tibet,” mentioned Dr. Thangaraj, in an official launch on Friday.
Changpa and Monpa people have been discovered to be sharing frequent maternal genetic ancestor, whereas Brokpas are distinct and had suffered inhabitants decline about 1000-2000 years in the past. Changpa and Monpa populations had additionally confirmed genetic affinity with Tibeto-Burman audio system.
“This study strongly suggests Brokpas are the most ancient settlers of the region, with very deep mitochondrial lineage going back to Neolithic period,” mentioned Dr Rai. “These findings conclusively indicate the demographic changes and population transitions in Ladakh region are associated with migrations from East Asia, Tibet, South Asia and more recently from west Eurasia,” mentioned director, Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow, Mahesh G. Thakkar.
CCMB Director Vinay Okay. Nandicoori defined that this examine additional confirms and helps the motion of people by the Trans Himalayan hall and the silk route. This examine has thus helped fill the hole within the historical past of demographic modifications and inhabitants transformations of Ladakh area since Bronze age (3000 years in the past) and the way they relate with modern Eurasians.
The discovering was revealed lately within the journal ‘Mitochondrion’. Other institutes concerned are Archaeological Survey of India, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, Archaeological Survey of India, Mini Circle Leh, UT Ladakh, Panjab University, Chandigarh and AcSIR, Ghaziabad.
