Abstract
Northwestern China, a land full of mystery, is rich in human genetic and linguistic resource. Most of the ethnic groups, inhabiting in this region, belong to Altai language family. Nevertheless, little has been known about the relationship between the genetic makeup of Altaic speaking populations and their languages. We collected 964 male samples from 20 ethnic groups in the northwestern China, and surveyed 12 Y-chromosomal biallelic markers to reconstruct the paternal architecture. The result of multidimensional scaling analysis indicated that Tungusic Group and Turkic Group showed large genetic distances to each other, and the Mongolian Group was close to the Tungusic Group, somewhat apart from Turkic Group. Principal component analyses also confirmed the result. A phylogenetic tree signified a generally association between Y chromosomes of Altaic speaking populations and their linguistic affiliations, revealing a coevolution of Y chromosome diversity and languages in North-western China.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Cavalli-Sforza, L.L. 1997. Genes, peoples, and languages. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 94 (15): 7719–7724.
Comas, D., et al. 2008. Human Genetics and Languages. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.
Excoffier, L., et al. 2007. Arlequin (version 3.0): An integrated software package for population genetics data analysis. Evolutionary Bioinformatics Online 23 (1): 47–50.
Forster, P., and C. Renfrew. 2011. Mother Tongue and Y Chromosomes. Science 333 (6048): 1390–1391.
Friedlaender, J.S., et al. 2008. The genetic structure of Pacific Islanders. PLoS Genetics 4 (1): e19.
Jean-Marie, H., et al. 2009. Becoming Eloquent: Advances in the emergence of language, human cognition, and modern cultures. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Karafet, T., et al. 2001. Paternal population history of East Asia: Sources, patterns, and microevolutionary processes. American Journal of Human Genetics 69 (3): 615–628.
Norman, J. 1988. Chinese. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Piazza, A., et al. 1995. Genetics and the origin of European languages. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 92 (13): 5836–5840.
Renfrew, C. 1987. Archeology and Language. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.
Shou, W.H., et al. 2010. Y-chromosome distributions among populations in Northwest China identify significant contribution from Central Asian pastoralists and lesser influence of western Eurasians. Journal of Human Genetics 55 (5): 314–322.
Tishkoff, S.A., et al. 2009. The genetic structure and history of Africans and African Americans. Science 324 (5930): 1035–1044.
Wang, C.C., and H. Li. 2013. Inferring human history in East Asia from Y chromosomes. Investigative Genetics 4 (1): 11.
Wang, S., et al. 2007. Genetic variation and population structure in native Americans. PLoS Genetics 3 (11): e185.
Wen, S.Q., et al. 2013. Contact and admixture—the relationship between Dongxiang population and their language viewed from Y chromosomes. Yi Chuan 35 (6): 761–770.
Wen, S.Q., et al. 2016. Y-chromosome based genetic pattern in East Asia affected by Neolithic transition. Quaternary International (in press).
Xue, Y.L., et al. 2006. Male demography in East Asia: A north-south contrast in human population expansion times. Genetics 172 (4): 2431–2439.
Zhou, R., et al. 2007. Testing the hypothesis of an ancient Roman soldier origin of the Liqian people in northwest China: A Y-chromosome perspective. Journal of Human Genetics 52 (7): 584–591.
Zhou, R., et al. 2008. Origin and evolution of two Yugur sub-clans in Northwest China: A case study in paternal genetic landscape. Annals of Human Biology 35 (2):198–211.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Wen, S., Xie, X., Xu, D. (2017). Relationship Between Altaic Speaking Populations and Their Languages Viewed from Y Chromosomes. In: Xu, D., Li, H. (eds) Languages and Genes in Northwestern China and Adjacent Regions. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4169-3_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4169-3_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-10-4168-6
Online ISBN: 978-981-10-4169-3
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)