Genetic history of humans and animals in South Asia

The human genetic history of South Asia has been shaped by its pivotal location at the crossroads of East and West Eurasia, dramatic landscapes such as the Himalayas, and longstanding socio-cultural practices like endogamy. A consequence is the diversity of East and West Eurasian genetic ancestral lineages found in South Asians today. Increasing genome-wide data from ancient and present-day humans are providing emerging insights into the demographic processes that underlie present-day genetic diversity of South Asians and how they interface with evidence from archaeology, anthropology, linguistics, and oral histories. Human history in South Asia is also closely intertwined with the animals that humans domesticated, traded, and moved with them, offering yet another window into the dynamics of human mobility and connectivity in the past. This talk will focus on ancient and modern DNA insights into the origins of present-day human genetic diversity in South Asia, evolutionary history of domesticates, and broader implications for our understanding of human movements and interactions across Eurasia.