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. 2005 May 13;308(5724):1034-6.
doi: 10.1126/science.1109792.

Single, rapid coastal settlement of Asia revealed by analysis of complete mitochondrial genomes

Vincent Macaulay  1 , Catherine Hill, Alessandro Achilli, Chiara Rengo, Douglas Clarke, William Meehan, James Blackburn, Ornella Semino, Rosaria Scozzari, Fulvio Cruciani, Adi Taha, Norazila Kassim Shaari, Joseph Maripa Raja, Patimah Ismail, Zafarina Zainuddin, William Goodwin, David Bulbeck, Hans-Jürgen Bandelt, Stephen Oppenheimer, Antonio Torroni, Martin Richards
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Free article

Single, rapid coastal settlement of Asia revealed by analysis of complete mitochondrial genomes

Vincent Macaulay et al. Science. .
Free article

Abstract

A recent dispersal of modern humans out of Africa is now widely accepted, but the routes taken across Eurasia are still disputed. We show that mitochondrial DNA variation in isolated "relict" populations in southeast Asia supports the view that there was only a single dispersal from Africa, most likely via a southern coastal route, through India and onward into southeast Asia and Australasia. There was an early offshoot, leading ultimately to the settlement of the Near East and Europe, but the main dispersal from India to Australia approximately 65,000 years ago was rapid, most likely taking only a few thousand years.

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Comment in

  • Evolution. Did early humans go north or south?
    Forster P, Matsumura S. Forster P, et al. Science. 2005 May 13;308(5724):965-6. doi: 10.1126/science.1113261. Science. 2005. PMID: 15890867 No abstract available.
  • Tracing modern human origins.
    Harpending H, Eswaran V. Harpending H, et al. Science. 2005 Sep 23;309(5743):1995-7; author reply 1995-7. doi: 10.1126/science.309.5743.1995b. Science. 2005. PMID: 16179458 No abstract available.

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