URL:
http://www.genome.org/cgi/content/full/11/6/994
I cannot check, of course, in anyway if this study is true or false.
But if this study is correct, this suggest that the Native Proto-
Indians have suffered a kind of "Romanization Process" in the
past ... : 'learning' the Indo-Aryan language from some Indo-
Europeans invaders.
Marius
Some fragments:
[...]
"For maternally inherited mtDNA, each caste is most similar to
Asians. However, 20%-30% of Indian mtDNA haplotypes belong to West
Eurasian haplogroups, and the frequency of these haplotypes is
proportional to caste rank, the highest frequency of West Eurasian
haplotypes being found in the upper castes. In contrast, for
paternally inherited Y-chromosome variation each caste is more
similar to Europeans than to Asians. Moreover, the affinity to
Europeans is proportionate to caste rank, the upper castes being most
similar to Europeans, particularly East Europeans. "
Analysis of mtDNA Suggests a Proto-Asian Origin of Indians
-----------------------------------------------------------
MtDNA HVR1 genetic distances between caste populations and Africans,
Asians, and Europeans are significantly different from zero (p <
0.001) and reveal that, regardless of rank, each caste group is most
closely related to Asians and is most dissimilar from Africans (Table
1). The genetic distances from major continental populations (e.g.,
Europeans) differ among the three caste groups, and the comparison
reveals an intriguing pattern. As one moves from lower to upper
castes, the distance from Asians becomes progressively larger. The
distance between Europeans and lower castes is larger than the
distance between Europeans and upper castes, but the distance between
Europeans and middle castes is smaller than the upper caste-European
distance.
Y-Chromosome Variation Confirms Indo-European Admixture
--------------------------------------------------------
Genetic distances estimated from Y-chromosome STR polymorphisms
differ significantly from zero (p < 0.001) and reveal a distinctly
different pattern of population relationships (Table 3). In contrast
to the mtDNA distances, the Y-chromosome STR data do not demonstrate
a closer affinity to Asians for each caste group. Upper castes are
more similar to Europeans than to Asians, middle castes are
equidistant from the two groups, and lower castes are most similar to
Asians. The genetic distance between caste populations and Africans
is progressively larger moving from lower to middle to upper caste
groups (Table 3).
Genetic distances estimated from Y-chromosome biallelic polymorphisms
differ significantly from zero (p < 0.05), and the patterns differ
from the mtDNA results even more strikingly than the Y-chromosome
STRs. For Y-chromosome biallelic polymorphism data, each caste group
is more similar to Europeans (Table 4), and as one moves from lower
to middle to higher castes the genetic distance to Europeans
diminishes progressively.
This pattern is further accentuated by separating the European
population into Northern, Southern, and Eastern Europeans; each caste
group is most closely related to Eastern Europeans.
Moreover, the genetic distance between upper castes and Eastern
Europeans is approximately half the distance between Eastern
Europeans and middle or lower castes.
These results suggest that Indian Y chromosomes, particularly upper
caste Y chromosomes, are more similar to European than to Asian Y
chromosomes.
This underscores the close affinities between Hindu Indian and Indo-
European Y chromosomes based on a previously reported analysis of
three Y-chromosome polymorphisms (Quintana-Murci et al. 1999b).
[...]
However, in contrast to the mtDNA results but similar to the Y-
chromosome results, the affinity between upper castes and Europeans
is higher than that of upper castes and Asians (Table 5). If the
Kshatriya and Vysya are excluded from the analysis or included in the
middle castes, the genetic distance between the upper caste
(Brahmins) and Europeans remains smaller than the distance between
the lower castes and Europeans and the distance between upper castes
and Asians (Table 5).
Analysis of each caste separately reveals that the genetic distance
between the Brahmins and Europeans (0.013) is less than the distance
between Europeans and Kshatryia (0.030) or Vysya (0.020).
Nevertheless, each separate upper caste is more similar to Europeans
than to Asians.
[...]
The most likely explanation for these findings, and the one most
consistent with archaeological data, is that contemporary Hindu
Indians are of proto-Asian origin with West Eurasian admixture.
However, admixture with West Eurasian males was greater than
admixture with West Eurasian females, resulting in a higher affinity
to European Y chromosomes.
This supports an earlier suggestion of Passarino et al. (1996), which
was based on a comparison of mtDNA and blood group results.
Furthermore, the degree of West Eurasian admixture was proportional
to caste rank.
This explanation is consistent with either the hypothesis that
proportionately more West Eurasians became members of the upper
castes at the inception of the caste hierarchy or that social
stratification preceded the West Eurasian incursion and that West
Eurasians tended to insert themselves into higher-ranking positions.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
One consequence is that shared Indo-European languages may not
reflect a common origin of Europeans and most Indians, but rather
underscores the transfer of language mediated by contact between West
Eurasians and native proto-Indians.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
"