Y-Chromosome evidence of an African origin of Dravidian agriculture

Clyde Winters

Governors State University, COE G-323, University Park, Illinois 60466, USA.

E-mail: c-winters@govst.edu.

Accepted 21 January, 2010

   Abstract

Y-linked markers provide loci to investigate genetic connections between human populations that can offer abundant anthropological information. Ancestry informative markers for Dravidian speaking populations in India that cultivate African cultigens were analyzed. The frequency of shared Y-chromosomes and HLAs between Dravidian and African populations is consistent with a possible African origin for millet, the principal food staple of Dravidian speakers in India. The evolutionary and epidemiological implications of these findings are reported herein.

Key words: Human leukocyte antigen (HLA), sickle cell anemia, haplotype, Y-chromosome, haplogroup, mtDNA.