Matriclans shape populations: Insights from the Angolan Namib Desert into the maternal genetic history of southern Africa

  • Sandra Oliveira
    CIBIO/InBIO: Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources Vairão 4485‐661 Portugal
  • Anne‐Maria Fehn
    CIBIO/InBIO: Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources Vairão 4485‐661 Portugal
  • Teresa Aço
    Centro de Estudos do Deserto (CEDO) Namibe Angola
  • Fernanda Lages
    ISCED/Huíla—Instituto Superior de Ciências da Educação Lubango Angola
  • Magdalena Gayà‐Vidal
    CIBIO/InBIO: Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources Vairão 4485‐661 Portugal
  • Brigitte Pakendorf
    Laboratoire Dynamique du Langage, UMR5596, CNRS & Université Lyon Lyon 69007 France
  • Mark Stoneking
    Department of Evolutionary Genetics Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig 04103 Germany
  • Jorge Rocha
    CIBIO/InBIO: Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources Vairão 4485‐661 Portugal

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<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:sec><jats:title>Objectives</jats:title><jats:p>Southern Angola is a poorly studied region, inhabited by populations that have been associated with different migratory movements into southern Africa. Apart from Kx'a‐speaking San foragers and Bantu‐speaking pastoralists, ethnographic and linguistic studies have suggested the existence of an enigmatic array of pre‐Bantu communities, like the Kwepe (formerly Khoe‐Kwadi speakers), Twa and Kwisi. Here, we evaluate previous peopling hypotheses by assessing the relationships between different southern Angolan populations, based on newly collected linguistic data and complete mtDNA genomes.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Materials and methods</jats:title><jats:p>We analyzed 295 complete mtDNA genomes and linguistic data from seven groups from the Namib Desert (Himba, Kuvale, Tjimba, Twa, Kwisi, Kwepe) and Kunene Province (!Xun), placing special emphasis on the evaluation of the genealogical consistency of the matriclanic system that characterizes most of these groups.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results</jats:title><jats:p>We found that the maternal genetic structure of all groups from the Namib Desert was strongly shaped by the consistency of their matriclanic system. The tracking of the maternal heritage enhanced population differentiation by genetic drift and is likely to have caused the divergent mtDNA profiles of the Kwepe, Twa, and Kwisi, who probably formed a single population within the spectrum of Bantu genetic variation. Model‐based analyses further suggest that the dominant pastoral groups Kuvale and Himba may be grouped into a Bantu proto‐population which also included the ancestors of present‐day Tjimba and Herero, as well as the Khoe‐Kwadi speaking Damara foragers from Namibia.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Discussion</jats:title><jats:p>The view from southwestern Angola offers a new perspective on the populating history of southern Africa and the Bantu expansions by showing that social stratification and different subsistence patterns are not always indicative of remnant groups, but may reflect Bantu‐internal variation and ethnogenesis.</jats:p></jats:sec>

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