Distance matrices

The file contains all data matrices used in the study

Evolution of the Ainu Language in Space and Time

<div><p></p><p>Languages evolve over space and time. Illuminating the evolutionary history of language is important because it provides a unique opportunity to shed light on the population history of the speakers. Spatial and temporal aspects of language evolution are particularly crucial for understanding demographic history, as they allow us to identify when and where the languages originated, as well as how they spread across the globe. Here we apply Bayesian phylogeographic methods to reconstruct spatiotemporal evolution of the Ainu language: an endangered language spoken by an indigenous group that once thrived in northern Japan. The conventional dual-structure model has long argued that modern Ainu are direct descendants of a single, Pleistocene human lineage from Southeast Asia, namely the Jomon people. In contrast, recent evidence from archaeological, anthropological and genetic evidence suggest that the Ainu are an outcome of significant genetic and cultural contributions from Siberian hunter-gatherers, the Okhotsk, who migrated into northern Hokkaido around 900–1600 years ago. Estimating from 19 Ainu language varieties preserved five decades ago, our analysis shows that they are descendants of a common ancestor who spread from northern Hokkaido around 1300 years ago. In addition to several lines of emerging evidence, our phylogeographic analysis strongly supports the hypothesis that recent expansion of the Okhotsk to northern Hokkaido had a profound impact on the origins of the Ainu people and their culture, and hence calls for a refinement to the dual-structure model.</p> </div

Inferred origin and diffusion of the Ainu language varieties in natural time scale.

<p>Color gradient of the polygons (80% HPD) indicates relevant age of the diffusion [Blue-older (1288 BP); Red-more recent (50 BP)]. White lines represent the phylogeny projected onto the surface. Image sources: © 2012 Google Earth; © 2012 Cnes/Spot Image; © 2012 TerraMetrics.</p

Map of the Ainu language varieties.

<p>Colored circles represent two major subgroups (Green-Hokkaido; Yellow-Sakhalin). Blue bar in the center indicates the main area of the Okhotsk settlement.</p

Variables in the best GLMM explaining the occurrence of yawn contagion.

<p><i>ß</i>: Coefficient; SE: Standard error; CI: Confidence Interval.</p

Results of <i>Kr</i>-tests: reciprocity of head rubbing and correlations with dyadic variables.

*<p>p<0.05. Variables with “-” on the right side of the table were controlled variables in the partial Kr-tests.</p>†<p>When immediate exchange was excluded, reciprocity controlled for age difference dropped below significance level (<i>p</i><0.1).</p

Results of <i>Kr</i>-tests: reciprocity of licking and correlations with female–female dyadic variables.

*<p>p<0.005. Variables with “-” on the right side of the table were controlled variables in partial <i>Kr</i>-tests.</p

Boxplot of the frequency of head rubbing for each sex classs dyad.

<p>Bold lines indicate medians and circles denote outliers.</p

Distribution of head rubbing among all individuals.

<p>Each dyad is plotted on a plane according to the summed frequency of head rubbing given by one lion to the other, and vice versa. The cumulative number of dyads is indicated by the height.</p

Kinship in the subject group of lions.

<p>Males are indicated by underlined IDs. Siblings from the same litter are connected by vertical lines. Bold, dashed and double lines represent three different sire males. Birth years are indicated at the bottom.</p