Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology research solves the Roopkund lake mystery

  • | Wednesday | 21st August, 2019

The study was conducted on the mysterious skeletons discovered over a decade ago around the Roopkund Lake in the Himalayas. Situated at over 5,000 metres above sea level in the Himalayas, Roopkund Lake has long puzzled researchers due to the presence of skeletal remains from several hundred ancient humans, scattered on the lake’s shores. Debunking mythsThe findings have also helped debunk various myths that surround the Roopkund Lake. According to the research, Roopkund Lake is located on a present day pilgrimage route to Nanda Devi Raj Jat which is held once every 12 years. Therefore the Roopkund Cluster A remains could be those of South Asian pilgrims.

By Express News Service HYDERABAD: In what was the country’s first ancient-genomic study, a team of scientists from the Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CCMB) established the presence of migrants from 17th century Mediterranean in the Himalayas. The study was conducted on the mysterious skeletons discovered over a decade ago around the Roopkund Lake in the Himalayas. The DNA study of at least 38 skeletons revealed that 23 of the 38 individuals had ancestry in present-day South Asia (800 CE), while 14 had an ancestry typical to eastern Mediterranean (1800 CE), and one individual had ancestry in Southeast Asia. Situated at over 5,000 metres above sea level in the Himalayas, Roopkund Lake has long puzzled researchers due to the presence of skeletal remains from several hundred ancient humans, scattered on the lake’s shores. Speaking to Express, Dr K Thangaraj, chief scientist at CCMB, explained that out of the 500 bones and skeletal remains that were found in the region, only 72 bones could be gathered by the CCMB team due to weather constraints and the unforgiving Himalayan terrain. “Of the 72 bones, 23 were identified as male and 15 as female. There were no children in our sample, and we assume most of the individuals were middle-aged,” he explained. Dr Thangaraja further explained the use of mitochondrial haplogroup, an essential method that was used to recognise the ancestry of the genes. “We used the DNA from the mitochondria, known as the mitochondrial DNA. This DNA is transferred from one individual to another maternally, from mother to child via the egg cell. Therefore, it is helpful to trace back DNA in a singular lineage across generations,” he said. Three Roopkund Haplogroups have been identified, Haplogroup A pointing to the present day South Asian ancestry, Haplogroup B pointing to the Mediterranean ancestry, and a miniscule Haplogroup C that pointed towards a South East Asian Ancestry. Debunking myths The findings have also helped debunk various myths that surround the Roopkund Lake. The people, to whom the mysterious skeletons belonged, were once thought to have died during a single catastrophic event. But the study rules out the myth of the people dying in an epidemic, as scientists did not find traces of any bacteria in their DNA. Further, the study found that the skeletons belong to genetically highly distinct groups, that died in multiple periods in at least two episodes separated by 1,000 years. According to the research, Roopkund Lake is located on a present day pilgrimage route to Nanda Devi Raj Jat which is held once every 12 years. Therefore the Roopkund Cluster A remains could be those of South Asian pilgrims. Cluster A’s carbon dating reveals that the deaths are spread across the 7th and 9th century. The Roopkund Cluster B is more puzzling, and the data suggests that it comprises a group of unrelated men and women who were born in the eastern Mediterranean region during the period of Ottoman political control. They could have lived in an inland location, eventually travelling to, and dying, in the Himalayas. way paved for study of genetic evolution Apart from instigating the scientific curiosity of ancient genomic study, Dr Thangaraja, chief scientist at CCMB, hopes that this research will help understand genetic evolution, especially of the South Asian cluster, for comparison with the genomic variation of the current generation. “We can predict the lifestyle of these people, and also study how our present-day genome has evolved over the last 1,500 years. Are there any mutations in their genome that we do not have today? Does that mutation help us ward off specific kinds of diseases, or did it help the ancient people to survive under such rugged conditions? These are the kinds of questions that can be answered by furthering the scope of this study,” explained Dr Thangaraj

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