The genetic or mythical ancestry of descent groups: Lessons from the Y chromosome

Raphaëlle Chaix, Frédéric Austerlitz, Tatyana Khegay, Svetlana Jacquesson, Michael F. Hammer, Evelyne Heyer, Lluís Quintana-Murci

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

49 Scopus citations

Abstract

Traditional societies are often organized into descent groups called "lineages," "clans," and "tribes." Each of these descent groups claims to have a common ancestor, and this ancestry distinguishes the group's members from the rest of the population. To test the hypothesis of common ancestry within these groups, we compared ethnological and genetic data from five Central Asian populations. We show that, although people from the same lineage and clan share generally a recent common ancestor, no such common ancestry is observed at the tribal level. Thus, a tribe might be a conglomerate of clans who subsequently invented a mythical ancestor to strengthen group unity.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1113-1116
Number of pages4
JournalAmerican Journal of Human Genetics
Volume75
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2004
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Genetics
  • Genetics(clinical)

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