People online: Zionism is colonialism!! Stop eraseing the natives!
Genetic studies: umm. Well, actually -
I'm not biologist! But I try to explain this in simpler words. Feel free to correct me if I misunderstood anything :)
(can't believe I spent about 4 hours on it)
In short - the study compared the Y genes of several different groups - aka the paternal genetic history (father-to-son).
Finding more similarities= genetically closer= has a more common ancestry.
(like, brother is closer then cousin closer then a stranger)
Let's start!
"The investigation of the genetic relationship among three Jewish communities revealed that Kurdish and Sephardic Jews were indistinguishable from one another, whereas both differed slightly, yet significantly, from Ashkenazi Jews. The differences among Ashkenazim may be a result of low-level gene flow from European populations and/or genetic drift during isolation."
AKA: genetically speaking, there's no difference between Jews from various MENA countries (Mizrahim). (Sephardic were mostly Moroccan origins, Kurdish sample mostly north Iraq/Syrian origins)
An important note: Eda refers to the spesific traditions/subgroup, and passed down by the paternal line (father-to-son). This is in order to preserve traditional practices, that were different in different communities (e1)
There's a small genetic difference between Mizrahi jews and Ashkenazi Jews. This could be due to isolation or "low level gene flow" (in other words, converts and (mostly) children born from rape. Which was... way more common then you think. Look up "Pogrom".)
Next!
In a report published elsewhere, we recently showed that Jews and Palestinian Arabs share a large portion of their Y chromosomes, suggesting a common ancestry (Nebel et al. 2000). Surprisingly, in the present study, Jews were found to be even closer to populations in the northern part of the Middle East than to several Arab populations. It is worth mentioning that, on the basis of protein polymorphisms, most Jewish populations cluster very closely with Iraqis (Livshits et al. 1991) and that the latter, in turn, cluster very closely with Kurds (Cavalli-Sforza et al. 1994). These findings are consistent with known cultural links that existed among populations in the Fertile Crescent in early history.
Here, the mention earlier studies about genetic links between Jews (of all Edot) and Palestinian arabs. This can mean there's a common ancestry to the population (same grand-grand-etc.-father).
Jews are geneticly similar to Iranians, who are geneticly similar to Kurds (e2)
Those genetic links aren't suprising, and consistent with what we know from history about population and communities in the Fertile Crescent area.
Muslim Kurds
The Kurds are considered an ancient autochthonous population (Kinnane 1970; Pelletiere 1984) who may even be the descendants of the shepherds who first populated the highlands during the Neolithic period (Comas et al. 2000). Although Kurdistan came under the successive dominion of various conquerors, including the Armenians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Ottoman Turks, and Iraqis (Kinnane 1970), they may be the only western Asian group that remained relatively unmixed by the influx of invaders, because of their protected and inhospitable mountainous homeland (Pelletiere 1984). The Y chromosome variation of Muslim Kurds falls within the spectrum observed in other populations (Turks and Armenians) living in the same region. The three populations are closer to Jews and Arabs than to Europeans. This is in good agreement with data on classical markers (Cavalli-Sforza et al. 1994). However, on the basis of mtDNA polymorphisms, Kurds were reported to be more closely related to Europeans than to Middle Easterners (Comas et al. 2000).
Kurds are very ancient ethnic group. Possibly the only western-asian group that remained relatively unmixed, despite (pointing history).
Kurds Y chromosomes are pretty similar to those in the same area (Turks and Armenians), and those three groups Y chromosomes are more similar to Jews and Arabs then to Europeans.
Now, that's interesting: the similarities is also in classical markers, but it's different from studies on mtDNA (Maternal/mother line), which then shows more similar to Europeans than Arabs and Jews.
(idk if there are rumours/historical kurds stories/traditions about Patriarch communities with brides from distance? Or Matriarch communities with grooms from the (other) distance? But it sounds like the historical story is something like that.
Palestinian Arabs and Bedouin
Bedouin are largely nomadic Arab herders, with a tribal organization. They live in all Arab countries, constituting about one tenth of the population (Cavalli-Sforza et al. 1994). The Bedouin population of the Negev desert was found to be most distant from Jews and Muslim Kurds and to be closely related only to Palestinians. Both these Arab populations differ from the other Middle Eastern groups sampled for the present study, mainly in having a higher frequency of Eu 10 chromosomes, the majority of which they share with each other. Traditional marriage practices—such as male polygamy, a high rate of consanguineous marriages, and patrilocality—may have enhanced the low haplogroup and haplotype diversity of the Negev Bedouin, as was suggested elsewhere for the Bedouin tribes in the Sinai Peninsula (Salem et al. 1996).
Bedouins from the Negev (Southern Israel) were most different from Jews and Muslim-kurds, and closely related to Palestinian Arabs. Both Arab groups were(geneticly) very similar to eachother, but different from the other Middle Eastern groups in the study.
The main difference was a higher frequency of Eu 10 chromosomes, that were similar in the 2 groups.
We propose that the Y chromosomes in Palestinian Arabs and Bedouin represent, to a large extent, early lineages derived from the Neolithic inhabitants of the area and additional lineages from more-recent population movements. The early lineages are part of the common chromosome pool shared with Jews (Nebel et al. 2000). According to our working model, the more-recent migrations were mostly from the Arabian Peninsula, as is seen in the Arab-specific Eu 10 chromosomes that include the modal haplotypes observed in Palestinians and Bedouin. These haplotypes and their one-step microsatellite neighbors constitute a substantial portion of the total Palestinian (29%) and Bedouin (37.5%) Y chromosome pools and were not found in any of the non-Arab populations in the present study. The peripheral position of the modal haplotypes, with few links in the network (fig. 5), suggests that the Arab-specific chromosomes are a result of recent gene flow. Historical records describe tribal migrations from Arabia to the southern Levant in the Byzantine period, migrations that reached their climax with the Muslim conquest 633–640 a.d.; Patrich 1995). Indeed, Arab-specific haplotypes have been observed at significant frequencies in Muslim Arabs from Sena (56%) and the Hadramaut (16%) in the Yemen (Thomas et al. 2000). Thus, although Y chromosome data of Arabian populations are limited, it seems very likely that populations from the Arabian Peninsula were the source of these chromosomes. The genetic closeness, in classical protein markers, of Bedouin to Yemenis and Saudis (Cavalli-Sforza et al. 1994) supports an Arabian origin of the Bedouin. The alternative explanation for the distribution of the Arab-specific haplotypes (i.e., random genetic drift) is unlikely. It is difficult to imagine that the different populations in the Yemen and the southern Levant, in which Arab-specific chromosomes have been detected at moderate-to-high frequencies, would have drifted in the same direction.
The eu10 Y chromosomes geneticly linked to the arab peninsula, and wasn't found in non-arab population. It's very possible that arab-Palestinians and Bedouins are the descendants of immigrants and population movement, possibly during the Caliphate - the Muslim Empire (Arab dynasties 632-1258; Mamluk Sultanate 1250-1517; ottoman/turkish 1517-1924) (e2)
Example and more information undercut:
Eda (plural - Edot): community, subgroup. Usually refers to a group using different Minhagim (traditions).
For example, my Yemeni ancestors only said the "Hamotzi" prayer (said before eating bread) during Passover, as wheat was rare and expensive, and wasn't a usual part of their diet.
Another differences include Te'amim (ways to read the Torah. Sort of like 🎶 for voice); Kitniyot (o lo lithiyot/jk) - do you eat it on passover? What about the oil?; certain holidays (traditional Mimuna, Sigd.) (Yat kislev🙈)
Through history, even though most Jewish communities weren't completely isolated from one another, it still took a lot of time to pass questions and information. So different places gained different traditions.
Basically, it goes "(go by) paternal traditions" (מנהג אבות)
In the past, people that moved from one community to another would take over the new traditions.
Since moving and immigration became far more common, and started to move as communities, people kept their traditions. For example, in my area I have 5 small synagogues, each was founded by a community from different diaspora that wanted to keep their traditions.
And it's okay! It's even great 😸
(e2) kurds:
Oh look, another ethnic group fighting for freedom and right for self government.
Population: about 30m ppl worldwide. In current geography, the land split between Iraq, Syria and Turkey. Also fighting ISIS. Look up YPJ.
16 notes
·
View notes
The scientific consensus is that humans did evolve in Africa. This theory is supported by various lines of evidence from paleontology, genetics, and comparative anatomy.
The earliest known members of the hominin lineage, which includes humans and their extinct ancestors, have been found in Africa, with the oldest dating back over 6 million years. These fossils exhibit a mix of human-like and ape-like traits and represent a transition from our primate ancestors to the first members of our genus Homo.
In addition to the fossil record, genetic studies have shown that the genetic diversity of modern humans is highest in Africa, suggesting that this is where our species originated. Comparative anatomy also reveals similarities between humans and other African apes, such as gorillas and chimpanzees, further supporting the African origin hypothesis.
Overall, while there are still debates and ongoing research, the evidence strongly supports the idea that humans evolved in Africa.
1 note
·
View note
This is maybe an odd thing to put on a good news/reasons for hope blog, but I've also had people tell me that they find this info really, genuinely comforting, so I'm putting it up.
Also, further understanding could do a ton to advance medicine, esp. re: allergies, autoimmune diseases, and depression. You can read more about this at the link.
"More than half of your body is not human, say scientists.
Human cells make up only 43% of the body's total cell count. The rest are microscopic [co-contributors].
Understanding this hidden half of ourselves - our microbiome - is rapidly transforming understanding of diseases from allergy to Parkinson's.
The field is even asking questions of what it means to be "human" and is leading to new innovative treatments as a result.
"They are essential to your health," says Prof Ruth Ley, the director of the department of microbiome science at the Max Planck Institute, "your body isn't just you."
No matter how well you wash, nearly every nook and cranny of your body is covered in microscopic creatures.
This includes bacteria, viruses, fungi and archaea (organisms originally misclassified as bacteria). The greatest concentration of this microscopic life is in the dark murky depths of our oxygen-deprived bowels.
Prof Rob Knight, from University of California San Diego, told the BBC: "You're more microbe than you are human."
Originally it was thought our cells were outnumbered 10 to one.
"That's been refined much closer to one-to-one, so the current estimate is you're about 43% human if you're counting up all the cells," he says.
But genetically we're even more outgunned.
The human genome - the full set of genetic instructions for a human being - is made up of 20,000 instructions called genes.
But add all the genes in our microbiome together and the figure comes out between two and 20 million microbial genes.
Prof Sarkis Mazmanian, a microbiologist from Caltech, argues: "We don't have just one genome, the genes of our microbiome present essentially a second genome which augment the activity of our own.
"What makes us human is, in my opinion, the combination of our own DNA, plus the DNA of our gut microbes."
It would be naive to think we carry around so much microbial material without it interacting or having any effect on our bodies at all.
Science is rapidly uncovering the role the microbiome plays in digestion, regulating the immune system, protecting against disease and manufacturing vital vitamins.
Prof Knight said: "We're finding ways that these tiny creatures totally transform our health in ways we never imagined until recently."
It is a new way of thinking about the microbial world. To date, our relationship with microbes has largely been one of warfare.
-via BBC News, April 10, 2018
387 notes
·
View notes