A Neolithic expansion, but strong genetic structure, in the independent history of New Guinea

The population structure in Papua New Guinea reflects a Neolithic transition with high present-day genetic differentiation. Genetic history of Papua New Guinea peoples Papua New Guinea was likely a stepping stone for human migration from Asia to Australia. Bergström et al. analyzed genome-wide autosomal data from several peoples in Papua New Guinea and determined population structure, divergence, and temporal size changes on the island. A sharp genetic divide is evident between the highlands and lowlands that appears to have occurred 10,000 to 20,000 years ago, concurrent with the spread of crop cultivation and the trans-New Guinea language family. Science, this issue p. 1160 New Guinea shows human occupation since ~50 thousand years ago (ka), independent adoption of plant cultivation ~10 ka, and great cultural and linguistic diversity today. We performed genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism genotyping on 381 individuals from 85 language groups in Papua New Guinea and find a sharp divide originating 10 to 20 ka between lowland and highland groups and a lack of non–New Guinean admixture in the latter. All highlanders share ancestry within the last 10 thousand years, with major population growth in the same period, suggesting population structure was reshaped following the Neolithic lifestyle transition. However, genetic differentiation between groups in Papua New Guinea is much stronger than in comparable regions in Eurasia, demonstrating that such a transition does not necessarily limit the genetic and linguistic diversity of human societies.

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