The 'grandmother' of the island nation of Madagascar

The new study shows that Madagascar residents are descended from about 30 Indonesian women, when they went there on a lost ship 1,200 years ago.

Discovered on the previous negative hypothesis, that a large-scale settlement process took place on the island of Madagascar, off the east coast of Africa. Accordingly, Indonesian traders traveling along the Indian Ocean coasts were the first to settle on the island.

According to the latest DNA-scale study published in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the Royal Society B , most native Madagascar people today, called Malagasy, may be descendants of 30 women. Experts have focused on mitochondrial DNA transmitted from mothers to their children. They also hypothesize that some men live with these women.

Mr. Murray Cox, head of the research team at Massey University's Institute of Molecular Biological Sciences (New Zealand), said: 'We think it is the settlement of a group of 30 Indonesian women, and through research. Genetics we see there are some men with but how much is unknown '.

New research suggests that Indonesian women are aquatic ancestors
of Madagascar residents today - (Photo: Discovery)

Mr. Cox and his colleagues analyzed genetic samples of 2,745 individuals from 12 island groups in the Indonesian archipelago. They then compared the results with the genetic information of 266 individuals from three Malagasy ethnic groups: Mikea hunter hunters, Vezo nomadic fishermen and Andriana Merina. Many Malagasy people carry genes linked to Indonesia. The DNA testing process showed that only 30 Indonesian women created Malagasy population, with much less biological contribution from Africa. Indonesian women have been staying with fellow countrymen, or with men from Africa.

According to Mr. Cox, a small number of Indonesian women fit the number of passengers on board. He said typical Indonesian merchant ships in the first millennium AD could carry about 500 people. Indonesia is more than 8,000 kilometers from Madagascar, so Indonesian women and their partners must have had a 'tiring' journey, especially if it was an unforeseen trip. 'This scenario may not be true for a small group of Indonesian women. Instead, our new evidence favors a small movement of people, and perhaps even an unwanted act of crossing the Indian Ocean , 'Cox said.

Rare archaeological evidence, including a few pieces of stone marked with stone tools and an increased fire rate, suggests that humans may have visited but did not settle in Madagascar about 2,000 years ago. year. It was a very recent time considering the general history of mankind and Madagascar is one of the last places on earth that people settled.

Expert Matthew Hurles of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute also studied the genetic heritage of Madagascar's native people. He and his colleagues also noted the relevance to Indonesia.'Malagasy is an almost 50:50 combination of two Indonesian ancestral groups and East Africans. It is important that we have realized that these strains have been mixed together in the following centuries since settling, so the Malagasy people now have ancestors in both Indonesia and Africa , ' he said. .

Cox concluded: 'It should be emphasized that Madagascar is not a' sealed box 'after the first settlement. Subsequent significant contributions were made by Africans, Arabs and Europeans. All of these contributions are present in today's Malagasy DNA. '