Genetic structure of the Mon-Khmer speaking groups and their affinity to the neighbouring Tai populations in Northern Thailand

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Mon-Khmer speaking peoples inhabited northern Thailand before the arrival of the Tai speaking people from southern China in the thirteenth century A.D. Historical and anthropological evidence suggests a close relationship between the Mon-Khmer groups and the present day majority northern Thai groups. In this study, mitochondrial and Y-chromosomal DNA polymorphisms in more than 800 volunteers from eight Mon-Khmer and ten Tai speaking populations were investigated to estimate the degree of genetic divergence between these major linguistic groups and their internal structure.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A large fraction of genetic variation is observed within populations (about 80% and 90% for mtDNA and the Y-chromosome, respectively). The genetic divergence between populations is much higher in Mon-Khmer than in Tai speaking groups, especially at the paternally inherited markers. The two major linguistic groups are genetically distinct, but only for a marginal fraction (1 to 2%) of the total genetic variation. Genetic distances between populations correlate with their linguistic differences, whereas the geographic distance does not explain the genetic divergence pattern.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The Mon-Khmer speaking populations in northern Thailand exhibited the genetic divergence among each other and also when compared to Tai speaking peoples. The different drift effects and the post-marital residence patterns between the two linguistic groups are the explanation for a small but significant fraction of the genetic variation pattern within and between them.</p

Problems of estimating stature from long bone length for extant and extinct hominids

Includes bibliographical references.Includes illustrations.Estimating stature from long bone measurements is a common problem in physical anthropology. The first portion of this thesis dealt with the relationships between stature and various long bone lengths. Regression equations were developed from published raw data for East Indian and Chinese samples. Stature predictions from these regression equations and from equations of previous investigators were compared. When complete long bones are not available, part-to- whole relationships are used to determine long bone length prior to estimating stature. The materials in the NIU osteology laboratory were used to derive part-to-whole regression equations and to evaluate published procedures for estimating whole bone lengths from bone segments. The last portion of this study dealt with estimating stature of extinct hominids. Casts of fossil fragments of australopithecines and published estimates of bone measurements were used to predict whole bone lengths. Regression equations developed in this thesis were used to estimate long bone lengths from their fragments. Stature regression equations developed in this work were used to predict stature of the australopithecines.M.A. (Master of Arts

Origins and biological affinities of the modern Thai population: An osteological perspective

The work focuses on the assessment of population affinities based on craniofacial skeletal data. The main objective is to test the "immigrant" and "endogenous" hypotheses for the origin of the modern Thai. The former proposes that the ancestors of the modern Thai migrated from China during the early second millennium A.D., and the latter proposes that the modern Thai are descended from prehistoric inhabitants of present-day Thailand. Although there is a great deal of research on East and Southeast Asia using archaeological, linguistic, and genetic data, detailed analysis of skeletal morphology has not been attempted beyond a few preliminary studies.Morphological comparisons among adult Thai and Chinese males and females, from both recent and archaeological populations, are made to assess biological distance among these groups. Both metric and discrete craniofacial traits are used. The compared features include fourteen metric traits: maximum cranial length, maximum cranial breadth, bizygomatic breadth, facial height, facial breadth, nasal height, nasal breadth, orbital height, orbital breadth, biorbital breadth, interorbital breadth, and three malar bone measurements (frontomalare orbitale to superior zygomaxillare, frontomalare orbitale to inferior zygomaxillare, and superior zygomaxillare to inferior zygomaxillare). Ten discrete traits are used, including metopic suture, nasofrontal suture, Os japonica, infraorbital suture, infraorbital foramen, incisura malaris, subnasal character, shovel-shaped incisor, four-cusped molar, and rocker jaw.Results of principal components analyses indicate that the craniofacial skeletal pattern changed through time. The early populations display larger craniofacial features than the modern sample population. Metric traits suggest that modern Thai are more closely related to archaeological Thai than to archaeological Chinese. Analysis of discrete traits, however, indicate that modern Thai and Chinese populations are very similar. Results of principal analyses also demonstrate that interorbital breadth is the best measure for differentiating these populations. Lastly, path analyses indicate that the primary ancestral groups for the modern Thai are not included in this study.U of I OnlyETDs are only available to UIUC Users without author permissio

Découverte d’un assemblage faunique à &lt;i&gt;Stegodon–Ailuropoda&lt;/i&gt; dans une grotte du Nord de la Thaïlande (Ban Fa Suai, Chiang Dao)

La grotte du Moine de Ban Fa Suai est un site original découvert dans le Nord de la Thaïlande, dans le cadre de la mission paléolithique française en Thaïlande, dont l’objectif est de mettre au jour la présence des premières populations humaines locales. Constitué de trois réseaux superposés – deux réseaux fossiles ayant livré respectivement des restes fauniques appartenant au complexe Stegodon – Ailuropoda et un assemblage lithique se rapportant au Hoabinhien et un réseau actuel actif –, ce site est l’occasion d’illustrer la nécessité de s’intéresser plus en détail aux modalités de remplissage et à la mise en place des restes dans une grotte emblématique de celles nombreuses existant en Asie du Sud-Est. Seize familles, 25 genres et 38 espèces de mammifères ont été identifiés parmi le matériel dentaire accumulé par des porcs-épics. L’analyse technologique du matériel lithique permet de le rapprocher de celui mis au jour en Indonésie.The Cave of the Monk from the village of Ban Fa Suai is an original site discovered by the Thai French Palaeosurvey during one of its field campaign looking for the remains of the first humans in northern Thailand. Preliminary data from geological, palaeontological and technolithic domains of this site are presented in this paper. Focusing on taphonomy it is an opportunity to describe evidence of a Stegodon-Ailuropoda fauna in a karstic context and the occurrence of Hoabinhian stone tools assemblages in a stacked overlain fossil gallery. The Cave of the Monk is a typical sample for several areas of South-East Asia. Sixteen families, 25 genus and 38 species of Mammals have been identified among the dental remains collected by procupines. The technological analysis shows that the lithic tools are similar to those originating from Indonesia.</p

Préhistoires au sud du Triangle d’or

À la marge des mondes indiens et chinois, territoire essentiel pour la compréhension des origines de l’homme et des peuplements anciens, carrefour migratoire pour la faune asiatique, le nord de la Thaïlande offre des conditions favorables à la conservation des vestiges du passé. Autant de raisons qui ont suscité les recherches récentes menées par la mission paléolithique franco-thaïe et dont le présent volume constitue une première synthèse. Au fil d’un itinéraire archéologique qui guide le lecteur dans les karsts du sud du Triangle d’Or, les auteurs revisitent l’archéologie préhistorique du Sud-Est asiatique à travers l’exploitation de nouveaux sites. Outre une étude détaillée de la mise en place des restes paléontologiques dans les grottes, les découvertes inédites de matériel lithique sont l’occasion d’une révision complète du faciès Hoabinhien. En s’appuyant sur ces données nouvelles, les auteurs proposent une synthèse originale intégrant la question du peuplement humain, l’évolution des techniques et l’histoire de la faune et des milieux anciens de la région. Ils ouvrent ainsi la voie vers une paléoécologie du milieu tropical forestier. Au travers de l’occupation des grottes par les moines bouddhistes, l’histoire récente est également traitée. Ces différentes approches permettent une relecture des événements qui, sur le temps long, ont abouti à la pluralité de l’homme actuel et de son environnement

: Discovery of a Stegodon-Ailuropoda assemblage in a cave of northern Thailand (Ban Fa Suai, Chiang Dao).

The cave of the Monk from the village of Ban Fa Suai is an original site discovered by the French Paleosurvey during one of its field campaign looking for the firsts humans in northern thailand. Preliminary data from geological, palaeontological and technolithic domains of this site are presented in this paper. Focusing on taphonomy it is an opportunity to describe evidence of a Stegodon-Ailuropoda fauna in a karstic context and the occurence of Hoabinhian stone tools assemblages in a stacked overlain fossil gallery. Thhe cave of the Monk is a typical sample for several areas of South-East Asia. Sixteen families, 25 genus and 38 species of Mammals have been identified among the dental remains collected by porcupines. The technological analysis shows that teh lithic tools are similar to those originating from Indonesia.La grotte du Moine de Ban Fa Suai est un site original découvert dans le Nord de la Thaïlande, dans le cadre de la mission paléolithique française en Thaïlande, dont l'objectif est de mettre au jour la présence des premières populations humaines locales. Constitué de trois réseaux superposés - deux réseaux fossiles ayant livrés respectivement des restes fauniques appartenant au complexe Stegodon-Ailuropoda et un assemblage lithique se rapportant au Hoabinhien et un réseau actuel actif - ce site est l'occasion d'illustrer la nécessité de s'intéresser plus en détail au modalités de remplissage et à la mise en place des restes dans une grotte emblématique de celles nombreuses existant en Asie du Sud-Est. Seize familles, 25 genres et 38 espèces de mammifères ont été identifiés parmi le matériel dentaire accumulé par les porcs-épics. L'analyse technologique du matériel lithique permet de la rapprocher de celui mis au jour en Indonésie