By Helen Briggs
BBC News
Clues to the origins of the Queen of Sheba legend are written in the DNA of some Africans, according to scientists.
Modern day Ethiopians show great cultural, linguistic and historical diversity
Genetic research suggests Ethiopians mixed with Egyptian, Israeli or Syrian populations about 3,000 years ago.
This is the time the queen, mentioned in great religious works, is said to have ruled the kingdom of Sheba.
The research, published in The American Journal of Human Genetics, also sheds light on human migration out of Africa 60,000 years ago.
According to fossil evidence, human history goes back longer in Ethiopia than anywhere else in the world. But little has been known until now about the human genetics of Ethiopians.
Professor Chris Tyler-Smith of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge, UK, a researcher on the study, told BBC News: “Genetics can tell us about historical events.
“By analysing the genetics of Ethiopia and several other regions we can see that there was gene flow into Ethiopia, probably from the Levant, around 3,000 years ago, and this fits perfectly with the story of the Queen of Sheba.”
Lead researcher Luca Pagani of the University of Cambridge and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute added: “The genetic evidence is in support of the legend of the Queen of Sheba.”
More than 200 individuals from 10 Ethiopian and two neighbouring African populations were analysed in the largest genetic investigation of its kind on Ethiopian populations.
About a million genetic letters in each genome were studied. Previous Ethiopian genetic studies have focussed on smaller sections of the human genome and mitochondrial DNA, which passes along the maternal line.
Dr Sarah Tishcoff of the Department of Genetics and Biology at the University of Pennsylvania, said Ethiopia would be an important region to study in the future.
Commenting on the study, she said: “Ethiopia is a very diverse region culturally and linguistically but, until now, we’ve known little about genetic diversity in the region.
“This paper sheds light on the very interesting recent and ancient population history of a region that played an important role in both recent and ancient human migration events.
“In particular, the inference of timing and location of admixture with populations from the Levant is very interesting and is a unique example of how genetic data can be integrated with historical data.”
The scientists acknowledge that there are uncertainties about dating, with a probable margin of error of a few hundred years either side of 3,000 years.
They plan to look at all three billion genetic letters of DNA in the genome of individual Ethiopians to learn more about human genetic diversity and evolution.
Source:
Zurga Yisman
July 1, 2012 at 12:52 pm
Queen of Sheba is a myth.
So there can be no scientific evidence whatsoever.
The so-called DNA clue is mere fabrication.
Western crooks are destorting the history and civilization of Ethiopians. Any trace of ancient civilization in Africa is considered to be the work of Asian and European bastards. In fact before sheba even existed in their fabrication, Ethiopia and Egypt have developed their civilization in the Nile vally.
Ancient Epgyptians and Ethiopians were the same people. They were black Africans. They did not need any gene flow either from Asia or Europe. Africa is the cradle of man and civilization.
Stop Zionist trash propaganda.
The Levantine Gene pool does not exist. According to the theory of evolution the Levant and many Europeans developed from a white monekey. They belong to thre Leukoid race in a very close relation to the great apes with large nose and skin having no melanin.
But Ethiopians and ancient Egyptians are the son of Amon Raa.
The sun God has created them.
All pharohs were black from Ethiopia.
Arabs and Hebrew nomads were bastards like the English.
Ethiopia has more than seven thausend years history. so forget the myth of Queen Sheba. King Solomon too did not exist. There is no facts to prove his existence.
Did these bigots found the fossil of queen Sheba?
we have the DNA of lucy.
Stop fabrication in the name of genetics. Genetics is a science but not a mythology. Therefore, it would be better for the English pseudo genetist in Cambridge to do some research on their own mish mash DNA.
It is none of theri business to meddle in the affairs of Ethiopians.