Back on Govt’s agenda: Study to trace roots of ancient Indian communities, this time using modern genomics

Back on Govt’s agenda: Study to trace roots of ancient Indian communities, this time using modern genomics

Sub :History

Sec: Ancient India

Context:

• The Indian government has launched a scientific study to investigate the population history of South Asia using ancient and modern genomics, addressing conflicting theories on the origins of ancient Indian communities.

About the study:

• Conducted by the Anthropological Survey of India (AnSI) under the Ministry of Culture.
• Titled “Reconstruction of the Population History of South Asia using ancient and modern genomics”.
• Involves studying 300 ancient skeletal remains, including cranial and bone fragments, collected from key archaeological sites in India and Pakistan, such as Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro, and Lothal.
• Collaboration with the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (Lucknow), under the Department of Science & Technology.
• Key Sites Studied:
  • Remains from sites like Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro (Pakistan), Burzahom (Jammu & Kashmir), Nagarjunakonda (Andhra Pradesh), Maski (Karnataka), Ropar (Punjab), and Lothal (Gujarat).
  • These remains were excavated between 1922 and 1958 by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
• Aims of the Study:
  • Explore the origins of ancient Indian communities using DNA from skeletal remains.
  • Discover clues about ancient diets, living conditions, disease prevalence, environmental adaptation, and migration patterns.
  • Gain insights into interactions and gene-sharing among ancient populations.
  • Provide clear conclusions on ancient population movements, including potential Aryan migration.

Historical Context:

• 19th-century scholars proposed the Aryan invasion theory, suggesting a migration of fair-skinned agrarian people from Central Asia who played a significant role in shaping Indian civilization after the Indus Valley period (2000-1,500 BC).
• Modern Indian archaeologists argue that Aryans were indigenous, residing along the Saraswati River, and migrated after the river dried up.
• Recent excavations, such as the 4,000-year-old site in Sinauli (Uttar Pradesh), have found evidence of indigenous burials of warriors and chariots.
• Impact on History Narratives:
  • Recent findings cast doubts on the Aryan migration theory, emphasizing a continuous 5,000-year Indian civilization.
  • The study seeks to provide a more accurate narrative of India’s ancient history.

Progress & Partnerships:

• The project started with an MoU between AnSIand the Birbal Sahni Institute in July 2023 and aims for completion by December 2025.
• DNA extraction from ancient remains is ongoing, with initial results showing continuity without significant genetic changes.
• AnSI has also partnered with University College London to further explore genetic and cultural evolution in human populations.

Who were Aryans?

• The term ‘Aryan’ or ‘Arya’ appears to be the most ancient one used for Indo-Europeans. The Aryans were central Asian Steppe pastoralists who arrived in India between roughly 2000 BCE and 1500 BCE and brought Indo-European languages to the subcontinent.
• There, they came upon the Indus or Harappan cities, destroyed them, and drove survivors southward (where they became ‘Dravidians’), although some proposed that the Aryans arrived after the decline of the Indus cities.
• In any case, they swept across the Indus plains, composed the Vedas over several centuries, spread Sanskrit and their caste system throughout India, and established the mighty Ganges civilization.
• Earlier interpretations regarding the Early Vedic society are based on the theory of Indo-Aryan migration from West Asia into the Indian subcontinent. According to this historical interpretation, the Aryans came to India in several stages or waves.
• Aryans and Vedas: The composers of the Rig Veda described themselves as Arya, which can be understood as a cultural or ethnic term.

The Indo-Aryans were the speakers of a sub-group of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European family of languages.

What is the Aryan Invasion Theory?

• Aryan migration theory (AMT) was first proposed by European scholars in the nineteenth century, most notably F Max Muller and linguist William Jones. It was a convenient way to explain obvious similarities between Sanskrit and Greek or Latin since another branch of the Aryans was assumed to have migrated towards Europe.
• Archaeologists have made attempts to link various post-Harappan cultures to the Aryans. The Painted Grey Ware, which has been dated between 900 and 500 BCE, has been repeatedly associated with Aryan craftsmanship.
• Following the linguistic similarities discovered between the Rigveda and the Avesta, archaeologists attempted to find similarities in pottery forms, paintings on ceramics, and forms of copper objects, among other things, between post-Harappan and West Asian/Iranian Chalcolithic assemblages.
  • Such parallels were exaggerated to support the theory that the Aryans were a people who migrated from West Asia to the Indian subcontinent.
  • As a result, literary and archaeological works were created to complement one another in order to validate the concept of migration.
• Linguistic similarities between the Rigveda and the Avesta are undeniable. However, such similarities do not imply a large-scale migration of people into the Indian subcontinent.
• Secondly, the similarities that have been found between Chalcolithic artefacts of India and those of Western Asia are only occasional. They also do not suggest large-scale migration of people.
• Although the Rigveda repeatedly mentions hostilities and wars between different groups, archaeology has not documented so-called clashes between Aryan and non-Aryan communities and cultures.

Source: IE