DNA extractions of hair samples collected from Aboriginal diaspora across Australia during the early to mid 1900s has just unveiled that population present in the region of Australia has had the same lineage descendancy for the last 50,000 years.
Findings published today in the esteemed journal Nature, reiterates on the strong connection Aboriginal communities share with their country while displayed the first intricate detailed genetic mapping of Aboriginal Australians prior to the arrival of Europeans.
There are the first preliminary results from the Aboriginal Heritage project, under the guide-ship of the University of Adelaides Australian Centre for Ancient DNA (ACAD) in collaboration with the South Australian Museum.
Researchers analyzed mitochondrial DNA from 111 hair samples collected during a series of anthropological expeditions across Australia from 1928 to the 1970s, which are also a part of the South Australian Museums collection of hair samples.
The results proved that modern Aboriginal Australians are the descendants of a single founding populace that appeared in Australia some 50,000 years ago and grew then onwards to other regions.
Project leader Professor Alan Cooper, Director of ACAD, University of Adelaide says, "Amazingly, it seems that from around this time the basic population patterns have persisted for the next 50,000 years -showing that communities have remained in discrete geographical regions. This is unlike people anywhere else in the world and provides compelling support for the remarkable Aboriginal cultural connection to country. We're hoping this project leads to a rewriting of Australia's history texts to include detailed Aboriginal history and what it means to have been on their land for 50,000 years - that's around 10 times as long as all of the European history we're commonly taught."
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