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  • Sinhalese and Adivasis migrated from Southern India: research
    Posted on July 3rd, 2025 in Exam Details (QP Included)

    • Whole-genome sequence data of urban Sinhalese and two indigenous Adivasi clans in Sri Lanka revealed genetic relationships.

    • Sinhalese and Adivasi are genetically closest to each other and South Indians, but Adivasi clans are genetically distinct.

    • The study used whole genomes of 35 urban Sinhalese individuals and 19 individuals from two indigenous Adivasi clans.

    • The study contradicted previous studies from a genetic perspective, suggesting the Sinhalese migrated from northern or northwest India around 500 BCE.

    • The study found that the genetic ancestries and proportions in the Adivasi and Sinhalese are most similar to Dravidian speaking populations in Southern India.

    • The Sinhalese are genetically closest to communities with higher proportions of the so-called ASI or ancestral South Indian ancestry.

    • The authors suggest that the genetic-linguistic discordance may have been caused by the Sinhalese population’s migration from North India, but genetically speaking, it may have come from a group that resembles more South Indian Dravidian speakers today.

    • More anthropological studies are needed to fully understand these differing genetic and cultural affinities of the Sinhalese.

    Study on Sinhalese and Adivasi Genetics in Sri Lanka

    • The study dated the formation of the Sinhalese genetic pool to about 3,000 years ago, aligning with the proposed migration date of the Sinhalese in the chronicles (500 BCE).

    • The Adivasi, traditionally hunter-gatherers and Indigenous peoples of Sri Lanka, were already living in Sri Lanka when the Sinhalese people migrated from India to Sri Lanka about 3,000 years ago.

    • The Adivasi clans are close to each other and share broad-level genetic similarities. However, the Adivasi have slightly higher levels of ancient hunter-gatherer ancestry and have maintained smaller population sizes.

    • The Adivasi genomes display signatures of endogamy, which appear as long stretches of DNA inherited from a common ancestor.

    • The genetic diversity among the Adivasi is lower than that in the urban populations, which may impact their health and disease status.

    • The Interior Adivasi clan underwent a stronger reduction in their population size compared to the Coastal Adivasi, leading to a greater loss of their genetic diversity.

    • The study was able to recapture the entire population history of the two Adivasi clans despite the small number of individuals representing the two Adivasi populations.

    • The study has important implications for how humans moved across South Asia and highlights the high degree of interconnectedness between India and Sri Lanka over millennia.

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