News Anthropology

DNA points to India’s two-pronged ancestry

Diverse groups in the South Asian nation may derive from a pair of ancient populations

By Bruce Bower

- More than 2 years ago

India’s 1.2 billion people belong to more than 4,600 ethnic and religious groups separated by caste, customs and language. But a shared genetic heritage runs deep in this teeming nation, a new DNA analysis suggests.

GENETIC SPREAD | Despite India’s genetic diversity (seen on a map showing the states inhabited by each of 25 groups), a new DNA study traces today’s lineages back to just two ancestral groups.