Moscow University
Anthropology
Bulletin
Anthropology
Bulletin
Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of biology, Department of anthropology, Leninskie Gory, 1, p.12, Moscow, 119991, Russia
Movsesian A.A., e-mail: amovsessyan@gmail.com
According to the frequencies of non-metric traits of the skull the Andamanese – the indigenous inhabitants of Andaman Islands, located between Burma and Indonesia in the Bay of Bengal, have ben studied. Till recently, the Andaman Islands remained isolated from the outside world, in particular, due to aggressive rejection of all foreigners by the natives. There are two hypotheses about the Andamanese origin: one associates them with the first migrants from Africa, preserving specific features in the conditions of prolonged isolation, while the other assumes that Andamanese are more recent immigrants from the Indian subcontinent. We have studied the following cranial materials in the Department of Anthropology, University of Cambridge: Andamanese (27 skulls), Burmans (56 skulls), South Indians (56 skulls), South Chinese (35 skulls), Malays (21 Skull), Somalis (59 skulls ), Tanzanians (56 skulls), Kenyans (60 skulls), Australians (78 skulls), Papuans Murua (34 skulls), Papuans Avayama (34 skulls), Melanesians (65 skulls). Analysis of genetic distances showed that Andamanese are almost equidistant from Asian and African groups, the average genetic distance between them is 0.0083. The relative similarity Andamanese shows only to the populations of Burma and India. The greatest distance is between Andamanese and Australians, Melanesians, and Malays. On the map, constructed from the results of principal component analysis, in the area of negative values of factors 1 and 2 are located African populations, in the area of positive values – the populations of Southeast Asia, which are joined by the Papuans of New Guinea. A special place took the Australians and Melanesians. Southern Indians occupied an intermediate position between Africans and Southeast Asia groups, and, finally, away from all are situated Andamanese. However, cluster analysis showed that Andamanese still belong to the same group with the populations of Southeast Asia, showing the greatest affinity to the Indians. Thus, according to non-metric traits analysis, Andamanese have separate, unique gene pool, showing only some connection with the Indian population, which is consistent with the findings obtained on the basis of molecular genetic data. According to our studies it is difficult to conclude whether Andamanese are preserved in isolation descendants of the first Homo Sapiens, emerged from East Africa and settled in the area of Southeast Asia, Australia and Oceania, or Paleolithic immigrants from the Indian subcontinent.
Lomonosov’s MSU, anthropology, non-metric traits, Andaman Islanders
Цит.: Movsesian A.A. On the origin of Andaman Islan // Moscow University Anthropology Bulletin (Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seria XXIII. Antropologia), 2012; 2/2012; с. 66-75
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