{"entity": "publication", "iuid": "f8bf93f60e8c470bb4a7753347935e0c", "timestamp": "2026-09-23T21:54:33.415Z", "links": {"self": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/f8bf93f60e8c470bb4a7753347935e0c.json"}, "display": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/f8bf93f60e8c470bb4a7753347935e0c"}}, "title": "BaTwa populations from Zambia retain ancestry of past hunter-gatherer groups.", "authors": [{"family": "Breton", "given": "Gwenna", "initials": "G", "orcid": "0000-0002-4100-9963", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/0cb347b948b94fcdbc7a89b396d37a95.json"}}, {"family": "Barham", "given": "Lawrence", "initials": "L"}, {"family": "Mudenda", "given": "George", "initials": "G"}, {"family": "Soodyall", "given": "Himla", "initials": "H"}, {"family": "Schlebusch", "given": "Carina M", "initials": "CM", "orcid": "0000-0002-8160-9621", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/c3c5882a2df9403a8756665cc3ae6b76.json"}}, {"family": "Jakobsson", "given": "Mattias", "initials": "M", "orcid": "0000-0001-7840-7853", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/377f1b52aa8d4bf394f82148a2b23d40.json"}}], "type": "journal article", "published": "2024-08-24", "journal": {"title": "Nat Commun", "issn": "2041-1723", "volume": "15", "issue": "1", "pages": "7307", "issn-l": "2041-1723"}, "abstract": "Sub-equatorial Africa is today inhabited predominantly by Bantu-speaking groups of Western African descent who brought agriculture to the Luangwa valley in eastern Zambia ~2000 years ago. Before their arrival the area was inhabited by hunter-gatherers, who in many cases were subsequently replaced, displaced or assimilated. In Zambia, we know little about the genetic affinities of these hunter-gatherers. We examine ancestry of two isolated communities in Zambia, known as BaTwa and possible descendants of recent hunter-gatherers. We genotype over two million genome-wide SNPs from two BaTwa populations (total of 80 individuals) and from three comparative farming populations to: (i) determine if the BaTwa carry genetic links to past hunter-gatherer-groups, and (ii) characterise the genetic affinities of past Zambian hunter-gatherer-groups. The BaTwa populations do harbour a hunter-gatherer-like genetic ancestry and Western African ancestry. The hunter-gatherer component is a unique local signature, intermediate between current-day Khoe-San ancestry from southern Africa and central African rainforest hunter-gatherer ancestry.", "doi": "10.1038/s41467-024-50733-y", "pmid": "39181874", "labels": [], "xrefs": [{"db": "pmc", "key": "PMC11344834"}, {"db": "pii", "key": "10.1038/s41467-024-50733-y"}, {"db": "dbGaP", "key": "phs001780.v1.p1"}], "notes": [], "created": "2026-09-23T13:17:48.773Z", "modified": "2026-09-23T13:17:48.825Z"}