Geneticists from the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) have released the results of a large-scale genomic study focusing on skeletal remains from the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. The analysis of 5,000-year-old DNA reveals a distinct genetic signature that marks the earliest recorded divergence of Southern Peninsular tribes from the broader South Asian Neolithic pool. This 'Kurnool Ancestry' appears to have remained isolated for nearly two millennia, preserving a unique set of genetic markers linked to starch metabolism and local forest survival.
This study, published in Molecular Biology and Evolution, provides a critical data point for the 'Out of India' genomic map, showing that regional diversification was well underway long before the arrival of Steppe-related ancestry. The research also highlights the role of the Eastern Ghats as a genetic refugium during periods of climatic instability in the mid-Holocene.