HomeLatest ArticlesResearch claims migration of prehistoric people in Southeast Asia was caused by...

Research claims migration of prehistoric people in Southeast Asia was caused by rising sea levels

An interdisciplinary team of scientists at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU, Singapore) found that rapid sea-level rise prompted early settlers in Southeast Asia to migrate during the prehistoric period, increasing the region’s genetic diversity today.

The Malay Peninsula and the islands of Sumatra, Borneo and Java were originally part of a large landmass of rainforest and coastal mangroves on the South Asian continental shelf known as ‘Sundaland’ about 26,000 years ago.

But during the last major period of global warming in Earth’s history, from the Last Glacial Maximum (about 26,000-20,000 years ago) to the mid-50th Holocene (about 6,000 years ago), sea levels rose by 130 meters. Rising sea levels flooded and submerged half of Sundaland, breaking land bridges and dividing the large land mass into the smaller islands of the present-day region.

To understand the impact on people living in Sundaland during one of the most dramatic sea-level rises in Earth’s history, a team of Singaporean NTU scientists reconstructed the land’s history using two different approaches: paleogeography — the study of historical physical landscapes. and population genetics.

Environmental change

Lead researcher Assistant Professor Kim Hie Lim from NTU’s Asian School of the Environment (ASE) and the Singapore Center for Environmental Engineering Life Sciences (SCELSE) at NTU said: “Environmental change has had a profound impact on human history, driving population migration, growth, and distribution.

However, there is less discussion about how environmental changes can shape the genetics of populations. Our work is the first reported example to provide evidence that sea-level rise has altered the genetic makeup of human populations in Southeast Asia—a legacy that continues to affect contemporary populations.

Using data for the sea-level history of Southeast and South Asia, including ancient Singapore records produced by NTU’s Earth Observatory in Singapore (EOS) and ASE, the research team constructed palaeogeographic maps dating from 26,000 years ago to the present.

The NTU team also used whole-genome sequence data from 59 ethnic groups, including those belonging to populations originating in Southeast and South Asia 50,000 years ago. By analyzing high-quality genome data, the team was able to infer the genetic origins and demographic history of the groups, including their size and population distribution.

While scientists elsewhere have studied population history based on genetics, most have used mitochondrial DNA (genes inherited from the mother), which does not tell the full picture of individual ancestry.

Using whole-genome sequence data – precise information about an individual’s entire genetic makeup inherited from both mother and father – the NTU study offers an unbiased demographic history of the original populations inhabiting Sundaland.

Genome-wide sequence data was produced by the non-profit organization GenomeAsia 100K. Launched in 2016 and hosted by NTU, the initiative aims to better understand the genomic diversity of Asian ethnicities by sequencing 100,000 genomes of people living in Asia.

Contributing author Professor Stephan Schuster, Presidential Chair in Genomics at NTU’s Faculty of Life Sciences, Director of Research at SCELSE and Scientific Chair of GenomeAsia 100K, said: “GenomeAsia 100K systematically generates maps of Asian human genetic diversity, including indigenous ethnicities that have inhabited the region for a long time. Integrating these maps with paleoclimate data now allows us to understand exactly how past climate events resulted in ancient human migrations, as well as their impact on today’s population structure.

The research is in line with NTU’s 2025 strategy, where the university embraces more collaborative, global and interdisciplinary research means to address Singapore’s national research priorities such as health and society.

Piecing together the story of human migration in ancient Sundaland

By combining findings from both approaches, the researchers inferred changes in population density from the high-quality historical paleogeographic maps created. The map paints a picture of prehistoric human migration in Sundaland and shows that the earliest documented case of forced human migration was caused by sea level rise.

The researchers found that two periods of rapid sea-level rise (sea-level rise rates of 46 mm/year and 22 mm/year) promoted the fragmentation of populations into smaller groups in Sundaland, as the large landmass split into smaller islands, forcing people to disperse.

Although the land mass has shrunk following rapid sea level rise, the temperature has increased since the last glacial maximum, creating a favorable environment to support human population growth. This caused population density to increase at least eightfold since the Last Glacial Maximum, particularly in the region of insular Southeast Asia, including the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo.

As a result, overpopulation forced people to migrate in search of new places to settle, and people in Sundaland later migrated back north to mainland Southeast Asia and South Asia.

This finding is supported by evidence of ancestral migration of the Malay indigenous group (Malaysia Negrito, or commonly referred to as ‘Orang Asli’) to South Asian tribal groups (Austroasiatic speakers). Genetic analysis confirmed common genetic ancestry between Malay and South Asian indigenous groups.

Read Now:<strong>Climate change warning: Global temperatures increased by 5-8°C</strong>

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