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Brigitte Pakendorf - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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the role of matrilineality in shaping patterns of y chromosome and mtdna sequence variation in southwestern angola
European Journal of Human Genetics, 2019Co-Authors: Sandra Oliveira, Mark Stoneking, Brigitte Pakendorf, Alexander Hubner, Annemaria Fehn, Fernanda Lages, Jorge RochaAbstract:Southwestern Angola is a region characterized by contact between indigenous foragers and incoming food-producers, involving genetic and cultural exchanges between peoples speaking Kx’a, Khoe-Kwadi, and Bantu Languages. Although present-day Bantu speakers share a patrilocal residence pattern and matrilineal principle of clan and group membership, a highly stratified social setting divides dominant pastoralists from marginalized groups that subsist on alternative strategies and have previously been thought to have pre-Bantu origins. Here, we compare new high-resolution sequence data from 2.3 Mb of the male-specific region of the Y chromosome (MSY) from 170 individuals with previously reported mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genomes, to investigate the population history of seven representative southwestern Angolan groups (Himba, Kuvale, Kwisi, Kwepe, Twa, Tjimba, !Xun), and to study the causes and consequences of sex-biased processes in their genetic variation. We found no clear link between the formerly Kwadi-speaking Kwepe and pre-Bantu eastern African migrants, and no pre-Bantu MSY lineages among Bantu-speaking groups, except for small amounts of “Khoisan” introgression. We therefore propose that irrespective of their subsistence strategies, all Bantu-speaking groups of the area share a male Bantu origin. Additionally, we show that in Bantu-speaking groups, the levels of among-group and between-group variation are higher for mtDNA than for MSY. These results, together with our previous demonstration that the matriclanic systems of southwestern Angolan Bantu groups are genealogically consistent, suggest that matrilineality strongly enhances both female population sizes and interpopulation mtDNA variation.
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the role of matrilineality in shaping patterns of y chromosome and mtdna sequence variation in southwestern angola
bioRxiv, 2018Co-Authors: Sandra Oliveira, Mark Stoneking, Brigitte Pakendorf, Alexander Hubner, Annemaria Fehn, Fernanda Lages, Jorge RochaAbstract:Southwestern Angola is a region characterized by contact between indigenous foragers and incoming food-producers, involving genetic and cultural exchanges between peoples speaking Kx′a, Khoe-Kwadi and Bantu Languages. Although present-day Bantu-speakers share a patrilocal residence pattern and matrilineal principle of clan and group membership, a highly stratified social setting divides dominant pastoralists from marginalized groups that subsist on alternative strategies and have previously been though to have pre-Bantu origins. Here, we compare new high-resolution sequence data from 2.3 Mb of the non-recombining Y chromosome (NRY) from 170 individuals with previously reported mitochondrial genomes (mtDNA), to investigate the population history of seven representative southwestern Angolan groups (Himba, Kuvale, Kwisi, Kwepe, Twa, Tjimba, !Xun) and to study the causes and consequences of sex-biased processes in their genetic variation. We found no clear link between the formerly Kwadi-speaking Kwepe and pre-Bantu eastern African migrants, and no pre-Bantu NRY lineages among Bantu-speaking groups, except for small amounts of ″Khoisan″ introgression. We therefore propose that irrespective of their subsistence strategies, all Bantu-speaking groups of the area share a male Bantu origin. Additionally, we show that in Bantu-speaking groups, the levels of among-group and between-group variation are higher for mtDNA than for NRY. These results, together with our previous demonstration that the matriclanic systems of southwestern Angolan Bantu groups are genealogically consistent, suggest that matrilineality strongly enhances both female population sizes and interpopulation mtDNA variation.
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Prehistoric language contact in the Kavango-Zambezi transfrontier area: Khoisan influence on southwestern Bantu Languages
Journal of African Languages and Linguistics, 2015Co-Authors: Hilde Gunnink, Brigitte Pakendorf, Bonny Sands, Koen BostoenAbstract:In this article, we show that the influence of Khoisan Languages on five southwestern Bantu click Languages spoken in the Kavango-Zambezi transfron-tier area is diverse and complex. These Bantu Languages acquired clicks through contact with both Khwe and Ju Languages. However, they did not simply copy these Khoisan clicks words. They adapted them phonologically, resulting in a reduction of the click inventory and also integrated them into Bantu morpho-syntax through the unusual process of paralexification. What is more, clicks do not only occur in words of Khoisan origin, but also spread to native vocabulary as a language-internal change, among other things through sound symbolism. Finally, calques and head-final nominal compounds in a number of these Bantu Languages point to structural influence, most likely from Khwe. We argue that the contact-induced changes observed in the southwestern Bantu Languages can be partly accounted for by the language shift of native Khoisan speakers who imposed certain features from their native language on the Bantu language they acquired. In addition, Bantu speakers may have used clicks and other Khoisan-derived elements as an emblem for marking a separate identity, as they were not only maintained, but extended to native structures as well.
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migration and interaction in a contact zone mtdna variation among Bantu speakers in southern africa
PLOS ONE, 2014Co-Authors: Chiara Barbieri, Mario Vicente, Sandra Oliveira, Koen Bostoen, Jorge Rocha, Mark Stoneking, Brigitte PakendorfAbstract:Bantu speech communities expanded over large parts of sub-Saharan Africa within the last 4000–5000 years, reaching different parts of southern Africa 1200–2000 years ago. The Bantu Languages subdivide in several major branches, with Languages belonging to the Eastern and Western Bantu branches spreading over large parts of Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa. There is still debate whether this linguistic divide is correlated with a genetic distinction between Eastern and Western Bantu speakers. During their expansion, Bantu speakers would have come into contact with diverse local populations, such as the Khoisan hunter-gatherers and pastoralists of southern Africa, with whom they may have intermarried. In this study, we analyze complete mtDNA genome sequences from over 900 Bantu-speaking individuals from Angola, Zambia, Namibia, and Botswana to investigate the demographic processes at play during the last stages of the Bantu expansion. Our results show that most of these Bantu-speaking populations are genetically very homogenous, with no genetic division between speakers of Eastern and Western Bantu Languages. Most of the mtDNA diversity in our dataset is due to different degrees of admixture with autochthonous populations. Only the pastoralist Himba and Herero stand out due to high frequencies of particular L3f and L3d lineages; the latter are also found in the neighboring Damara, who speak a Khoisan language and were foragers and small-stock herders. In contrast, the close cultural and linguistic relatives of the Herero and Himba, the Kuvale, are genetically similar to other Bantu-speakers. Nevertheless, as demonstrated by resampling tests, the genetic divergence of Herero, Himba, and Kuvale is compatible with a common shared ancestry with high levels of drift, while the similarity of the Herero, Himba, and Damara probably reflects admixture, as also suggested by linguistic analyses.
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unraveling the complex maternal history of southern african khoisan populations
American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 2014Co-Authors: Chiara Barbieri, Mark Stoneking, Falko Berthold, Linda Gerlach, Tom Guldemann, Sununguko Wata Mpoloka, Hirosi Nakagawa, Christfried Naumann, Brigitte PakendorfAbstract:The Khoisan populations of southern Africa are known to harbor some of the deepest-rooting lineages of human mtDNA; however, their relationships are as yet poorly understood. Here, we report the results of analyses of complete mtDNA genome sequences from nearly 700 individuals representing 26 populations of southern Africa who speak diverse Khoisan and Bantu Languages. Our data reveal a multilayered history of the indigenous populations of southern Africa, who are likely to be the result of admixture of different genetic sub- strates, such as resident forager populations and pre- Bantu pastoralists from East Africa. We find high levels of genetic differentiation of the Khoisan populations, which can be explained by the effect of drift together with a partial uxorilocal/multilocal residence pattern. Furthermore, there is evidence of extensive contact, not only between geographically proximate groups, but also across wider areas. The results of this contact, which may have played a role in the diffusion of common cul- tural and linguistic features, are especially evident in the Khoisan populations of the central Kalahari. Am J Phys Anthropol 153:435-448, 2014. V C 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Chiara Barbieri - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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migration and interaction in a contact zone mtdna variation among Bantu speakers in southern africa
PLOS ONE, 2014Co-Authors: Chiara Barbieri, Mario Vicente, Sandra Oliveira, Koen Bostoen, Jorge Rocha, Mark Stoneking, Brigitte PakendorfAbstract:Bantu speech communities expanded over large parts of sub-Saharan Africa within the last 4000–5000 years, reaching different parts of southern Africa 1200–2000 years ago. The Bantu Languages subdivide in several major branches, with Languages belonging to the Eastern and Western Bantu branches spreading over large parts of Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa. There is still debate whether this linguistic divide is correlated with a genetic distinction between Eastern and Western Bantu speakers. During their expansion, Bantu speakers would have come into contact with diverse local populations, such as the Khoisan hunter-gatherers and pastoralists of southern Africa, with whom they may have intermarried. In this study, we analyze complete mtDNA genome sequences from over 900 Bantu-speaking individuals from Angola, Zambia, Namibia, and Botswana to investigate the demographic processes at play during the last stages of the Bantu expansion. Our results show that most of these Bantu-speaking populations are genetically very homogenous, with no genetic division between speakers of Eastern and Western Bantu Languages. Most of the mtDNA diversity in our dataset is due to different degrees of admixture with autochthonous populations. Only the pastoralist Himba and Herero stand out due to high frequencies of particular L3f and L3d lineages; the latter are also found in the neighboring Damara, who speak a Khoisan language and were foragers and small-stock herders. In contrast, the close cultural and linguistic relatives of the Herero and Himba, the Kuvale, are genetically similar to other Bantu-speakers. Nevertheless, as demonstrated by resampling tests, the genetic divergence of Herero, Himba, and Kuvale is compatible with a common shared ancestry with high levels of drift, while the similarity of the Herero, Himba, and Damara probably reflects admixture, as also suggested by linguistic analyses.
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unraveling the complex maternal history of southern african khoisan populations
American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 2014Co-Authors: Chiara Barbieri, Mark Stoneking, Falko Berthold, Linda Gerlach, Tom Guldemann, Sununguko Wata Mpoloka, Hirosi Nakagawa, Christfried Naumann, Brigitte PakendorfAbstract:The Khoisan populations of southern Africa are known to harbor some of the deepest-rooting lineages of human mtDNA; however, their relationships are as yet poorly understood. Here, we report the results of analyses of complete mtDNA genome sequences from nearly 700 individuals representing 26 populations of southern Africa who speak diverse Khoisan and Bantu Languages. Our data reveal a multilayered history of the indigenous populations of southern Africa, who are likely to be the result of admixture of different genetic sub- strates, such as resident forager populations and pre- Bantu pastoralists from East Africa. We find high levels of genetic differentiation of the Khoisan populations, which can be explained by the effect of drift together with a partial uxorilocal/multilocal residence pattern. Furthermore, there is evidence of extensive contact, not only between geographically proximate groups, but also across wider areas. The results of this contact, which may have played a role in the diffusion of common cul- tural and linguistic features, are especially evident in the Khoisan populations of the central Kalahari. Am J Phys Anthropol 153:435-448, 2014. V C 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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migration and interaction in a contact zone mtdna variation among Bantu speakers in southern africa
bioRxiv, 2014Co-Authors: Chiara Barbieri, Mario Vicente, Sandra Oliveira, Koen Bostoen, Jorge Rocha, Mark Stoneking, Brigitte PakendorfAbstract:Bantu speech communities expanded over large parts of sub-Saharan Africa within the last 4000-5000 years, reaching different parts of southern Africa 1200-2000 years ago. The Bantu Languages subdivide in several major branches, with Languages belonging to the Eastern and Western Bantu branches spreading over large parts of Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa. There is still debate whether this linguistic divide is correlated with a genetic distinction between Eastern and Western Bantu speakers. During their expansion, Bantu speakers would have come into contact with diverse local populations, such as the Khoisan hunter-gatherers and pastoralists of southern Africa, with whom they may have intermarried. In this study, we analyze complete mtDNA genome sequences from over 900 Bantu-speaking individuals from Angola, Zambia, Namibia, and Botswana to investigate the demographic processes at play during the last stages of the Bantu expansion. Our results show that most of these Bantu-speaking populations are genetically very homogenous, with no genetic division between speakers of Eastern and Western Bantu Languages. Most of the mtDNA diversity in our dataset is due to different degrees of admixture with autochthonous populations. Only the pastoralist Himba and Herero stand out due to high frequencies of particular L3f and L3d lineages; the latter are also found in the neighboring Damara, who speak a Khoisan language and were foragers and small-stock herders. In contrast, the close cultural and linguistic relatives of the Herero and Himba, the Kuvale, are genetically similar to other Bantu-speakers. Nevertheless, as demonstrated by resampling tests, the genetic divergence of Herero, Himba, and Kuvale is compatible with a common shared ancestry with high levels of drift and differential female admixture with local pre-Bantu populations.
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Genetic perspectives on the origin of clicks in Bantu Languages from southwestern Zambia
European Journal of Human Genetics, 2013Co-Authors: Chiara Barbieri, Koen Bostoen, Anne Butthof, Brigitte PakendorfAbstract:Some Bantu Languages spoken in southwestern Zambia and neighboring regions of Botswana, Namibia, and Angola are characterized by the presence of click consonants, whereas their closest linguistic relatives lack such clicks. As clicks are a typical feature not of the Bantu language family, but of Khoisan Languages, it is highly probable that the Bantu Languages in question borrowed the clicks from Khoisan Languages. In this paper, we combine complete mitochondrial genome sequences from a representative sample of populations from the Western Province of Zambia speaking Bantu Languages with and without clicks, with fine-scaled analyses of Y-chromosomal single nucleotide polymorphisms and short tandem repeats to investigate the prehistoric contact that led to this borrowing of click consonants. Our results reveal complex population-specific histories, with female-biased admixture from Khoisan-speaking groups associated with the incorporation of click sounds in one Bantu-speaking population, while concomitant levels of potential Khoisan admixture did not result in sound change in another. Furthermore, the lack of sequence sharing between the Bantu-speaking groups from southwestern Zambia investigated here and extant Khoisan populations provides an indication that there must have been genetic substructure in the Khoisan-speaking indigenous groups of southern Africa that did not survive until the present or has been substantially reduced.
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the genetic prehistory of southern africa
Nature Communications, 2012Co-Authors: Joseph K Pickrell, Chiara Barbieri, Nick Patterson, Falko Berthold, Linda Gerlach, Tom Guldemann, Blesswell Kure, Sununguko Wata Mpoloka, Hirosi Nakagawa, Christfried NaumannAbstract:Southern and eastern African populations that speak non-Bantu Languages with click consonants are known to harbour some of the most ancient genetic lineages in humans, but their relationships are poorly understood. Here, we report data from 23 populations analysed at over half a million single-nucleotide polymorphisms, using a genome-wide array designed for studying human history. The southern African Khoisan fall into two genetic groups, loosely corresponding to the northwestern and southeastern Kalahari, which we show separated within the last 30,000 years. We find that all individuals derive at least a few percent of their genomes from admixture with non-Khoisan populations that began ∼1,200 years ago. In addition, the East African Hadza and Sandawe derive a fraction of their ancestry from admixture with a population related to the Khoisan, supporting the hypothesis of an ancient link between southern and eastern Africa.
Mark Stoneking - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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the role of matrilineality in shaping patterns of y chromosome and mtdna sequence variation in southwestern angola
European Journal of Human Genetics, 2019Co-Authors: Sandra Oliveira, Mark Stoneking, Brigitte Pakendorf, Alexander Hubner, Annemaria Fehn, Fernanda Lages, Jorge RochaAbstract:Southwestern Angola is a region characterized by contact between indigenous foragers and incoming food-producers, involving genetic and cultural exchanges between peoples speaking Kx’a, Khoe-Kwadi, and Bantu Languages. Although present-day Bantu speakers share a patrilocal residence pattern and matrilineal principle of clan and group membership, a highly stratified social setting divides dominant pastoralists from marginalized groups that subsist on alternative strategies and have previously been thought to have pre-Bantu origins. Here, we compare new high-resolution sequence data from 2.3 Mb of the male-specific region of the Y chromosome (MSY) from 170 individuals with previously reported mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genomes, to investigate the population history of seven representative southwestern Angolan groups (Himba, Kuvale, Kwisi, Kwepe, Twa, Tjimba, !Xun), and to study the causes and consequences of sex-biased processes in their genetic variation. We found no clear link between the formerly Kwadi-speaking Kwepe and pre-Bantu eastern African migrants, and no pre-Bantu MSY lineages among Bantu-speaking groups, except for small amounts of “Khoisan” introgression. We therefore propose that irrespective of their subsistence strategies, all Bantu-speaking groups of the area share a male Bantu origin. Additionally, we show that in Bantu-speaking groups, the levels of among-group and between-group variation are higher for mtDNA than for MSY. These results, together with our previous demonstration that the matriclanic systems of southwestern Angolan Bantu groups are genealogically consistent, suggest that matrilineality strongly enhances both female population sizes and interpopulation mtDNA variation.
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the role of matrilineality in shaping patterns of y chromosome and mtdna sequence variation in southwestern angola
bioRxiv, 2018Co-Authors: Sandra Oliveira, Mark Stoneking, Brigitte Pakendorf, Alexander Hubner, Annemaria Fehn, Fernanda Lages, Jorge RochaAbstract:Southwestern Angola is a region characterized by contact between indigenous foragers and incoming food-producers, involving genetic and cultural exchanges between peoples speaking Kx′a, Khoe-Kwadi and Bantu Languages. Although present-day Bantu-speakers share a patrilocal residence pattern and matrilineal principle of clan and group membership, a highly stratified social setting divides dominant pastoralists from marginalized groups that subsist on alternative strategies and have previously been though to have pre-Bantu origins. Here, we compare new high-resolution sequence data from 2.3 Mb of the non-recombining Y chromosome (NRY) from 170 individuals with previously reported mitochondrial genomes (mtDNA), to investigate the population history of seven representative southwestern Angolan groups (Himba, Kuvale, Kwisi, Kwepe, Twa, Tjimba, !Xun) and to study the causes and consequences of sex-biased processes in their genetic variation. We found no clear link between the formerly Kwadi-speaking Kwepe and pre-Bantu eastern African migrants, and no pre-Bantu NRY lineages among Bantu-speaking groups, except for small amounts of ″Khoisan″ introgression. We therefore propose that irrespective of their subsistence strategies, all Bantu-speaking groups of the area share a male Bantu origin. Additionally, we show that in Bantu-speaking groups, the levels of among-group and between-group variation are higher for mtDNA than for NRY. These results, together with our previous demonstration that the matriclanic systems of southwestern Angolan Bantu groups are genealogically consistent, suggest that matrilineality strongly enhances both female population sizes and interpopulation mtDNA variation.
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migration and interaction in a contact zone mtdna variation among Bantu speakers in southern africa
PLOS ONE, 2014Co-Authors: Chiara Barbieri, Mario Vicente, Sandra Oliveira, Koen Bostoen, Jorge Rocha, Mark Stoneking, Brigitte PakendorfAbstract:Bantu speech communities expanded over large parts of sub-Saharan Africa within the last 4000–5000 years, reaching different parts of southern Africa 1200–2000 years ago. The Bantu Languages subdivide in several major branches, with Languages belonging to the Eastern and Western Bantu branches spreading over large parts of Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa. There is still debate whether this linguistic divide is correlated with a genetic distinction between Eastern and Western Bantu speakers. During their expansion, Bantu speakers would have come into contact with diverse local populations, such as the Khoisan hunter-gatherers and pastoralists of southern Africa, with whom they may have intermarried. In this study, we analyze complete mtDNA genome sequences from over 900 Bantu-speaking individuals from Angola, Zambia, Namibia, and Botswana to investigate the demographic processes at play during the last stages of the Bantu expansion. Our results show that most of these Bantu-speaking populations are genetically very homogenous, with no genetic division between speakers of Eastern and Western Bantu Languages. Most of the mtDNA diversity in our dataset is due to different degrees of admixture with autochthonous populations. Only the pastoralist Himba and Herero stand out due to high frequencies of particular L3f and L3d lineages; the latter are also found in the neighboring Damara, who speak a Khoisan language and were foragers and small-stock herders. In contrast, the close cultural and linguistic relatives of the Herero and Himba, the Kuvale, are genetically similar to other Bantu-speakers. Nevertheless, as demonstrated by resampling tests, the genetic divergence of Herero, Himba, and Kuvale is compatible with a common shared ancestry with high levels of drift, while the similarity of the Herero, Himba, and Damara probably reflects admixture, as also suggested by linguistic analyses.
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unraveling the complex maternal history of southern african khoisan populations
American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 2014Co-Authors: Chiara Barbieri, Mark Stoneking, Falko Berthold, Linda Gerlach, Tom Guldemann, Sununguko Wata Mpoloka, Hirosi Nakagawa, Christfried Naumann, Brigitte PakendorfAbstract:The Khoisan populations of southern Africa are known to harbor some of the deepest-rooting lineages of human mtDNA; however, their relationships are as yet poorly understood. Here, we report the results of analyses of complete mtDNA genome sequences from nearly 700 individuals representing 26 populations of southern Africa who speak diverse Khoisan and Bantu Languages. Our data reveal a multilayered history of the indigenous populations of southern Africa, who are likely to be the result of admixture of different genetic sub- strates, such as resident forager populations and pre- Bantu pastoralists from East Africa. We find high levels of genetic differentiation of the Khoisan populations, which can be explained by the effect of drift together with a partial uxorilocal/multilocal residence pattern. Furthermore, there is evidence of extensive contact, not only between geographically proximate groups, but also across wider areas. The results of this contact, which may have played a role in the diffusion of common cul- tural and linguistic features, are especially evident in the Khoisan populations of the central Kalahari. Am J Phys Anthropol 153:435-448, 2014. V C 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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migration and interaction in a contact zone mtdna variation among Bantu speakers in southern africa
bioRxiv, 2014Co-Authors: Chiara Barbieri, Mario Vicente, Sandra Oliveira, Koen Bostoen, Jorge Rocha, Mark Stoneking, Brigitte PakendorfAbstract:Bantu speech communities expanded over large parts of sub-Saharan Africa within the last 4000-5000 years, reaching different parts of southern Africa 1200-2000 years ago. The Bantu Languages subdivide in several major branches, with Languages belonging to the Eastern and Western Bantu branches spreading over large parts of Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa. There is still debate whether this linguistic divide is correlated with a genetic distinction between Eastern and Western Bantu speakers. During their expansion, Bantu speakers would have come into contact with diverse local populations, such as the Khoisan hunter-gatherers and pastoralists of southern Africa, with whom they may have intermarried. In this study, we analyze complete mtDNA genome sequences from over 900 Bantu-speaking individuals from Angola, Zambia, Namibia, and Botswana to investigate the demographic processes at play during the last stages of the Bantu expansion. Our results show that most of these Bantu-speaking populations are genetically very homogenous, with no genetic division between speakers of Eastern and Western Bantu Languages. Most of the mtDNA diversity in our dataset is due to different degrees of admixture with autochthonous populations. Only the pastoralist Himba and Herero stand out due to high frequencies of particular L3f and L3d lineages; the latter are also found in the neighboring Damara, who speak a Khoisan language and were foragers and small-stock herders. In contrast, the close cultural and linguistic relatives of the Herero and Himba, the Kuvale, are genetically similar to other Bantu-speakers. Nevertheless, as demonstrated by resampling tests, the genetic divergence of Herero, Himba, and Kuvale is compatible with a common shared ancestry with high levels of drift and differential female admixture with local pre-Bantu populations.
Koen Bostoen - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Prehistoric language contact in the Kavango-Zambezi transfrontier area: Khoisan influence on southwestern Bantu Languages
Journal of African Languages and Linguistics, 2015Co-Authors: Hilde Gunnink, Brigitte Pakendorf, Bonny Sands, Koen BostoenAbstract:In this article, we show that the influence of Khoisan Languages on five southwestern Bantu click Languages spoken in the Kavango-Zambezi transfron-tier area is diverse and complex. These Bantu Languages acquired clicks through contact with both Khwe and Ju Languages. However, they did not simply copy these Khoisan clicks words. They adapted them phonologically, resulting in a reduction of the click inventory and also integrated them into Bantu morpho-syntax through the unusual process of paralexification. What is more, clicks do not only occur in words of Khoisan origin, but also spread to native vocabulary as a language-internal change, among other things through sound symbolism. Finally, calques and head-final nominal compounds in a number of these Bantu Languages point to structural influence, most likely from Khwe. We argue that the contact-induced changes observed in the southwestern Bantu Languages can be partly accounted for by the language shift of native Khoisan speakers who imposed certain features from their native language on the Bantu language they acquired. In addition, Bantu speakers may have used clicks and other Khoisan-derived elements as an emblem for marking a separate identity, as they were not only maintained, but extended to native structures as well.
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umlaut in the Bantu b80 Languages of the kwilu drc
Transactions of the Philological Society, 2014Co-Authors: Koen Bostoen, Joseph Koni MuluwaAbstract:Umlaut is a rather uncommon sound change in Bantu. However, it is prolific in a number of closely related Bantu Languages spoken in the Kwilu District of DR Congo, also known as the ‘Bantu B80’ Languages. This shared phonological innovation is not only diagnostic of the genealogical unity of this language cluster, but variation in the way it is realized is also significant for their internal classification. In some Languages, umlaut leads to an increase in phonemes through the creation of a new set of rounded front vowels. In others, umlaut triggers vowel change without impact on the number of vowel qualities. This paper presents a detailed descriptive and comparative study of this specific kind of vowel harmony and the phonological contexts in which it is triggered.
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migration and interaction in a contact zone mtdna variation among Bantu speakers in southern africa
PLOS ONE, 2014Co-Authors: Chiara Barbieri, Mario Vicente, Sandra Oliveira, Koen Bostoen, Jorge Rocha, Mark Stoneking, Brigitte PakendorfAbstract:Bantu speech communities expanded over large parts of sub-Saharan Africa within the last 4000–5000 years, reaching different parts of southern Africa 1200–2000 years ago. The Bantu Languages subdivide in several major branches, with Languages belonging to the Eastern and Western Bantu branches spreading over large parts of Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa. There is still debate whether this linguistic divide is correlated with a genetic distinction between Eastern and Western Bantu speakers. During their expansion, Bantu speakers would have come into contact with diverse local populations, such as the Khoisan hunter-gatherers and pastoralists of southern Africa, with whom they may have intermarried. In this study, we analyze complete mtDNA genome sequences from over 900 Bantu-speaking individuals from Angola, Zambia, Namibia, and Botswana to investigate the demographic processes at play during the last stages of the Bantu expansion. Our results show that most of these Bantu-speaking populations are genetically very homogenous, with no genetic division between speakers of Eastern and Western Bantu Languages. Most of the mtDNA diversity in our dataset is due to different degrees of admixture with autochthonous populations. Only the pastoralist Himba and Herero stand out due to high frequencies of particular L3f and L3d lineages; the latter are also found in the neighboring Damara, who speak a Khoisan language and were foragers and small-stock herders. In contrast, the close cultural and linguistic relatives of the Herero and Himba, the Kuvale, are genetically similar to other Bantu-speakers. Nevertheless, as demonstrated by resampling tests, the genetic divergence of Herero, Himba, and Kuvale is compatible with a common shared ancestry with high levels of drift, while the similarity of the Herero, Himba, and Damara probably reflects admixture, as also suggested by linguistic analyses.
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migration and interaction in a contact zone mtdna variation among Bantu speakers in southern africa
bioRxiv, 2014Co-Authors: Chiara Barbieri, Mario Vicente, Sandra Oliveira, Koen Bostoen, Jorge Rocha, Mark Stoneking, Brigitte PakendorfAbstract:Bantu speech communities expanded over large parts of sub-Saharan Africa within the last 4000-5000 years, reaching different parts of southern Africa 1200-2000 years ago. The Bantu Languages subdivide in several major branches, with Languages belonging to the Eastern and Western Bantu branches spreading over large parts of Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa. There is still debate whether this linguistic divide is correlated with a genetic distinction between Eastern and Western Bantu speakers. During their expansion, Bantu speakers would have come into contact with diverse local populations, such as the Khoisan hunter-gatherers and pastoralists of southern Africa, with whom they may have intermarried. In this study, we analyze complete mtDNA genome sequences from over 900 Bantu-speaking individuals from Angola, Zambia, Namibia, and Botswana to investigate the demographic processes at play during the last stages of the Bantu expansion. Our results show that most of these Bantu-speaking populations are genetically very homogenous, with no genetic division between speakers of Eastern and Western Bantu Languages. Most of the mtDNA diversity in our dataset is due to different degrees of admixture with autochthonous populations. Only the pastoralist Himba and Herero stand out due to high frequencies of particular L3f and L3d lineages; the latter are also found in the neighboring Damara, who speak a Khoisan language and were foragers and small-stock herders. In contrast, the close cultural and linguistic relatives of the Herero and Himba, the Kuvale, are genetically similar to other Bantu-speakers. Nevertheless, as demonstrated by resampling tests, the genetic divergence of Herero, Himba, and Kuvale is compatible with a common shared ancestry with high levels of drift and differential female admixture with local pre-Bantu populations.
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climate induced vegetation dynamics and the Bantu expansion evidence from Bantu names for pioneer trees elaeis guineensis canarium schweinfurthii and musanga cecropioides
Comptes Rendus Geoscience, 2013Co-Authors: Koen Bostoen, Rebecca Grollemund, Joseph Koni MuluwaAbstract:Abstract The present article examines whether Late Holocene climate-induced vegetation changes in the Central African forest block may have facilitated the Bantu Expansion. This is done through a body of evidence that is not commonly used for the reconstruction of vegetation dynamics, i.e. language data. The article focuses on common Bantu vocabulary for three pioneer species abundantly present in the Central African pollen record between ca. 2500 and 2000 BP: Musanga cecropioides, Elaeis guineensis, and Canarium schweinfurthii. The geographical distribution patterns of the vernacular names for these pioneer trees add weight to the hypothesis according to which the rainforest contraction that emerged in the first millennium BC had an impact on the way Bantu Languages dispersed.
Jorge Rocha - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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the role of matrilineality in shaping patterns of y chromosome and mtdna sequence variation in southwestern angola
European Journal of Human Genetics, 2019Co-Authors: Sandra Oliveira, Mark Stoneking, Brigitte Pakendorf, Alexander Hubner, Annemaria Fehn, Fernanda Lages, Jorge RochaAbstract:Southwestern Angola is a region characterized by contact between indigenous foragers and incoming food-producers, involving genetic and cultural exchanges between peoples speaking Kx’a, Khoe-Kwadi, and Bantu Languages. Although present-day Bantu speakers share a patrilocal residence pattern and matrilineal principle of clan and group membership, a highly stratified social setting divides dominant pastoralists from marginalized groups that subsist on alternative strategies and have previously been thought to have pre-Bantu origins. Here, we compare new high-resolution sequence data from 2.3 Mb of the male-specific region of the Y chromosome (MSY) from 170 individuals with previously reported mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genomes, to investigate the population history of seven representative southwestern Angolan groups (Himba, Kuvale, Kwisi, Kwepe, Twa, Tjimba, !Xun), and to study the causes and consequences of sex-biased processes in their genetic variation. We found no clear link between the formerly Kwadi-speaking Kwepe and pre-Bantu eastern African migrants, and no pre-Bantu MSY lineages among Bantu-speaking groups, except for small amounts of “Khoisan” introgression. We therefore propose that irrespective of their subsistence strategies, all Bantu-speaking groups of the area share a male Bantu origin. Additionally, we show that in Bantu-speaking groups, the levels of among-group and between-group variation are higher for mtDNA than for MSY. These results, together with our previous demonstration that the matriclanic systems of southwestern Angolan Bantu groups are genealogically consistent, suggest that matrilineality strongly enhances both female population sizes and interpopulation mtDNA variation.
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the role of matrilineality in shaping patterns of y chromosome and mtdna sequence variation in southwestern angola
bioRxiv, 2018Co-Authors: Sandra Oliveira, Mark Stoneking, Brigitte Pakendorf, Alexander Hubner, Annemaria Fehn, Fernanda Lages, Jorge RochaAbstract:Southwestern Angola is a region characterized by contact between indigenous foragers and incoming food-producers, involving genetic and cultural exchanges between peoples speaking Kx′a, Khoe-Kwadi and Bantu Languages. Although present-day Bantu-speakers share a patrilocal residence pattern and matrilineal principle of clan and group membership, a highly stratified social setting divides dominant pastoralists from marginalized groups that subsist on alternative strategies and have previously been though to have pre-Bantu origins. Here, we compare new high-resolution sequence data from 2.3 Mb of the non-recombining Y chromosome (NRY) from 170 individuals with previously reported mitochondrial genomes (mtDNA), to investigate the population history of seven representative southwestern Angolan groups (Himba, Kuvale, Kwisi, Kwepe, Twa, Tjimba, !Xun) and to study the causes and consequences of sex-biased processes in their genetic variation. We found no clear link between the formerly Kwadi-speaking Kwepe and pre-Bantu eastern African migrants, and no pre-Bantu NRY lineages among Bantu-speaking groups, except for small amounts of ″Khoisan″ introgression. We therefore propose that irrespective of their subsistence strategies, all Bantu-speaking groups of the area share a male Bantu origin. Additionally, we show that in Bantu-speaking groups, the levels of among-group and between-group variation are higher for mtDNA than for NRY. These results, together with our previous demonstration that the matriclanic systems of southwestern Angolan Bantu groups are genealogically consistent, suggest that matrilineality strongly enhances both female population sizes and interpopulation mtDNA variation.
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migration and interaction in a contact zone mtdna variation among Bantu speakers in southern africa
PLOS ONE, 2014Co-Authors: Chiara Barbieri, Mario Vicente, Sandra Oliveira, Koen Bostoen, Jorge Rocha, Mark Stoneking, Brigitte PakendorfAbstract:Bantu speech communities expanded over large parts of sub-Saharan Africa within the last 4000–5000 years, reaching different parts of southern Africa 1200–2000 years ago. The Bantu Languages subdivide in several major branches, with Languages belonging to the Eastern and Western Bantu branches spreading over large parts of Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa. There is still debate whether this linguistic divide is correlated with a genetic distinction between Eastern and Western Bantu speakers. During their expansion, Bantu speakers would have come into contact with diverse local populations, such as the Khoisan hunter-gatherers and pastoralists of southern Africa, with whom they may have intermarried. In this study, we analyze complete mtDNA genome sequences from over 900 Bantu-speaking individuals from Angola, Zambia, Namibia, and Botswana to investigate the demographic processes at play during the last stages of the Bantu expansion. Our results show that most of these Bantu-speaking populations are genetically very homogenous, with no genetic division between speakers of Eastern and Western Bantu Languages. Most of the mtDNA diversity in our dataset is due to different degrees of admixture with autochthonous populations. Only the pastoralist Himba and Herero stand out due to high frequencies of particular L3f and L3d lineages; the latter are also found in the neighboring Damara, who speak a Khoisan language and were foragers and small-stock herders. In contrast, the close cultural and linguistic relatives of the Herero and Himba, the Kuvale, are genetically similar to other Bantu-speakers. Nevertheless, as demonstrated by resampling tests, the genetic divergence of Herero, Himba, and Kuvale is compatible with a common shared ancestry with high levels of drift, while the similarity of the Herero, Himba, and Damara probably reflects admixture, as also suggested by linguistic analyses.
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migration and interaction in a contact zone mtdna variation among Bantu speakers in southern africa
bioRxiv, 2014Co-Authors: Chiara Barbieri, Mario Vicente, Sandra Oliveira, Koen Bostoen, Jorge Rocha, Mark Stoneking, Brigitte PakendorfAbstract:Bantu speech communities expanded over large parts of sub-Saharan Africa within the last 4000-5000 years, reaching different parts of southern Africa 1200-2000 years ago. The Bantu Languages subdivide in several major branches, with Languages belonging to the Eastern and Western Bantu branches spreading over large parts of Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa. There is still debate whether this linguistic divide is correlated with a genetic distinction between Eastern and Western Bantu speakers. During their expansion, Bantu speakers would have come into contact with diverse local populations, such as the Khoisan hunter-gatherers and pastoralists of southern Africa, with whom they may have intermarried. In this study, we analyze complete mtDNA genome sequences from over 900 Bantu-speaking individuals from Angola, Zambia, Namibia, and Botswana to investigate the demographic processes at play during the last stages of the Bantu expansion. Our results show that most of these Bantu-speaking populations are genetically very homogenous, with no genetic division between speakers of Eastern and Western Bantu Languages. Most of the mtDNA diversity in our dataset is due to different degrees of admixture with autochthonous populations. Only the pastoralist Himba and Herero stand out due to high frequencies of particular L3f and L3d lineages; the latter are also found in the neighboring Damara, who speak a Khoisan language and were foragers and small-stock herders. In contrast, the close cultural and linguistic relatives of the Herero and Himba, the Kuvale, are genetically similar to other Bantu-speakers. Nevertheless, as demonstrated by resampling tests, the genetic divergence of Herero, Himba, and Kuvale is compatible with a common shared ancestry with high levels of drift and differential female admixture with local pre-Bantu populations.
