Uros people of Peru and Bolivia have distinctive genetic ancestries
Uros people of Peru and Bolivia have distinctive genetic ancestries
Posted by: HeritageDaily , September 13, 2013
New genetic research led by the Genographic Project consortium shows a distinctive ancestry for the Uros populations of Peru and Bolivia that predates the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores and may date back to the earliest settlement of the Altiplano, or high plain, of the central Andes some 3,700 years ago.
Despite the fact that the Uros today share many lineages with the surrounding Andean populations, they have maintained their own divergent genetic ancestry.
The Uros are a self-identified ethnic group, about 2,000 of whom live in Peru, many of them on artificial floating islands on Lake Titicaca. Another 2,600 individuals live beside lakes and rivers of Bolivia. According to some anthropologists, the Uros are descendants of the first settlers of the Altiplano — the Andean plateau — yet their origin has been subjected to considerable academic debate. Those from Peru have long claimed to descend from the ancient Urus (Uruquilla speakers), using their differentiated ethnic identity to assert rights and prerogatives for their use of Titicaca’s natural resources. The Uros have historically been the target of discrimination by the pre-Inca, Inca and the Spanish, and this continues today. Some people have alleged that the Uros disappeared a long time ago and that the new islanders have conjured up an ancient heritage in order to attract tourists and receive special recognition and rights.
“We have found a concrete connection to the distinctive past for the Uros,” said Fabricio R. Santos, professor at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil, the leading coauthor of the paper.
“When we shared this information with the Uros people, they were quite enthusiastic about the news,” said Professor Ricardo Fujita of the Universidad San Martin de Porres, Lima, Peru, coauthor of the paper.
More:
http://www.heritagedaily.com/2013/09/uros-people-of-peru-and-bolivia-have-distinctive-genetic-ancestries/98981