Under the instructions of the Government of India, the Anthropological Survey of India (AnSI) will be conducting a unique study that aims to “conclusively” find the population history of South Asia. This scientific study includes using ancient and modern genomics to put an end to the conflicting notions about the origin of ancient Indian communities.
For this study, titled “Reconstruction of the Population History of South Asia Using Ancient and Modern Genomics,” researchers will study ancient skeletal remains of 300 humans, collected from different sites in Pakistan and India.The key archaeological sites include Indus Valley Civilisation sites such as Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro (now in Pakistan), Burzahom in Jammu & Kashmir, Nagarjunakonda in Andhra Pradesh, Maski in Karnataka, Ropar in Punjab, and Lothal in Gujarat. These skeletal remains were excavated between 1922 and 1958 and have since been carefully preserved by the Archaeological Survey of India and AnSI.
A thorough DNA analysis will be carried out to understand the movement of the ancient population and how it may have expanded across the globe. Talking to the Indian Express, Director of AnSI, B.V. Sharma explained that the DNA analysis will tell us about ancient diets, living conditions, disease prevalence, environmental adaptation, migration patterns, and how people interacted and shared gene pools over time. The study claims to answer the question of whether Aryans migrated to India or not.
Currently, the scientists are extracting valuable DNA from the 300 skeletal remains and comparing it with modern DNA. It is a tedious and complex process. So far, as per reports, the scientists have not found any discontinuity in the genes.
According to earlier theorists and scholars, the history of India began when Aryans, a class of people who migrated from Central Asia to India, arrived after the Indus Valley Civilisation between 1800–1500 BCE. However, many studies have contradicted this theory, citing a lack of evidence. Another section of historians believes that Aryans were indigenous people who had to migrate from their original living area near the Saraswati River after it dried.
Researchers from AnSI and the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow, hope that through their study they can map out a conclusive and strong narrative of ancient Indian history by the end of 2025. AnSI has also signed an agreement with University College London to further trace the steps of how the Indian population spread and how it underwent evolution.