biostudies-literatureBreton GVetenskapsrådet (Swedish Research Council)7307https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC11344834biostudies-literatureUnknown15(1)Sub-equatorial Africa is today inhabited predominantly by Bantu-speaking groups of Western African descent who brought agriculture to the Luangwa valley in eastern Zambia ~2000 years ago. Before their arrival the area was inhabited by hunter-gatherers, who in many cases were subsequently replaced, displaced or assimilated. In Zambia, we know little about the genetic affinities of these hunter-gatherers. We examine ancestry of two isolated communities in Zambia, known as BaTwa and possible descendants of recent hunter-gatherers. We genotype over two million genome-wide SNPs from two BaTwa populations (total of 80 individuals) and from three comparative farming populations to: (i) determine if the BaTwa carry genetic links to past hunter-gatherer-groups, and (ii) characterise the genetic affNature communicationsBaTwa populations from Zambia retain ancestry of past hunter-gatherer groups.PMC113448342018-055372022-04642Soodyall HBreton GBarham LJakobsson MSchlebusch CMMudenda GfalseBaTwa populations from Zambia retain ancestry of past hunter-gatherer groups.Sub-equatorial Africa is today inhabited predominantly by Bantu-speaking groups of Western African descent who brought agriculture to the Luangwa valley in eastern Zambia ~2000 years ago. Before their arrival the area was inhabited by hunter-gatherers, who in many cases were subsequently replaced, displaced or assimilated. In Zambia, we know little about the genetic affinities of these hunter-gatherers. We examine ancestry of two isolated communities in Zambia, known as BaTwa and possible descendants of recent hunter-gatherers. We genotype over two million genome-wide SNPs from two BaTwa populations (total of 80 individuals) and from three comparative farming populations to: (i) determine if the BaTwa carry genetic links to past hunter-gatherer-groups, and (ii) characterise the genetic aff2024-01-01T00:00:00Z2024 Aug2025-04-18T16:52:26.873Z2025-04-07T04:18:00.263ZS-EPMC113448343918187410.1038/s41467-024-50733-y