A genomic study has revealed that the Khoe and San communities of southern Africa are “descendants of the earliest diversification event in the history of all humans – some 100 000 years ago, well before the ‘out-of-Africa’ migration of modern humans.” Over 200 individuals from around southern Africa participated in the study with around 2.3 million DNA variants analysed per individual. The research was conducted by a consortium of international scientists.
Entitled ‘Genomic variation in seven Khoe-San groups reveals adaptation and complex African history’, the study has been published in the renowned scientific journal, Science. The genome-wide data will be shared widely.
