Monday 14 May 2007
The Austro-Asiatic linguistic family is considered to be the oldest of all the families in India, but it has a substantial presence in Southeast Asia.
There are three branches of Austro-Asiatic tribes: Mundari, Khasi-Khmuic and Mon-Khmer.
It has been suggest a strong paternal genetic link, not only among the subgroups of Indian Austro-Asiatic populations but also with those of Southeast Asia. However, maternal link based on mtDNA is not evident. (17389048)
The haplogroup O-M95 had originated in the Indian Austro-Asiatic populations 65,000 yrs BP (95% C.I. 25,442-132,230) and their ancestors carried it further to Southeast Asia via the Northeast Indian corridor.
Subsequently, in the process of expansion, the Mon-Khmer populations from Southeast Asia seem to have migrated and colonized Andaman and Nicobar Islands at a much later point of time.
The linguistic ancestors of the Austro-Asiatic populations have originated in India and then migrated to Southeast Asia. (17389048)
Kumar V, Reddy AN, Babu JP, Rao TN, Langstieh BT, Thangaraj K, Reddy AG, Singh L, Reddy BM. Y-chromosome evidence suggests a common paternal heritage of Austro-Asiatic populations. BMC Evol Biol. 2007 Mar 28;7:47. PMID: 17389048