Why is ethiopian hair different

Radiocarbon dating revealed that the bone was 4, years old. That meant Mota as the researchers called him lived before Eurasians returned to the African continent. Consistent with that timeline, Mota did not have any of the genetic variants for light-colored eyes or skin that evolved in the populations that left Africa.

Nor did he have variants that arose in Eurasian farmers that allowed them to digest milk as adults. Mota did have three variants that are known to help modern-day Ethiopians live in high altitudes. The present-day town of Mota lies more than 8, feet above sea level. With this information, the research team was able to investigate the mysterious group of Eurasians that came to Africa 3, years ago. They created a model that assumed the Ari genome was a mixture of DNA from Mota and an unknown population from west Eurasia.

Two results stood out from the rest. One was for modern-day Sardinians, who are known to be the closest living relatives to the earliest farmers. The other was for members of the so-called LBK culture in Germany, early farmers who lived about 7, years ago. If the Eurasian settlers who arrived in Africa 3, years ago were indeed descendants of the LBK farmers, then the story of their migration through Africa needs to be revised, the researchers wrote.

All of those migrants ultimately pushed farther into Africa than previously thought, they determined. The color coding is the same as above. You should be able to tell where the three groups start and stop pretty easily. Ethiopians, in particular highland Ethiopians, seem to me likely an ancient stabilized hybrid population between a population from Arabia, and a local Sub-Saharan population. This population seems unlikely to have been related to the peoples of West-Central Africa, who are associated with the Bantus across eastern and southern Africa.

The Bantu agricultural toolkit runs into ecological constraints in various regions, and it is in those regions that non-Bantu populations have persisted. Ethiopia, with its unique climate and topography, naturally remains non-Bantu as well as the Horn of Africa as a whole. The possible connections between Khoisan and Ethiopia may be a function of the fact that these areas harbor genetic variants which have disappeared in the intervening regions because of the Bantu expansion.

I have a hard time accepting that the Bantu expansion was particular eliminationist, but I am starting to suspect that outside of Ethiopia population densities were very, very, low. The antiquity of this ancient hybridization event to me is attested by the fact that Ethiopians lack any of the other Middle Eastern components besides the one modal in Saudi Arabia.

There is a great deal of intra-population variance in the Saudi data set. Part of this must be the slave trade, as well as pilgrims who remained in places like Mecca. But, I think part of the untold story here is that there may have been a larger genetic impact on Arabia after the rise of Islam from the Levant than vice versa! Probably the gene flow precedes Islam, as Arabia was hooked into worldwide trade and population movements, which Ethiopia was relatively insulated from.

These seem likely to be people who have some background in the Fertile Crescent. Register or Log In. The Magazine Shop. Login Register Stay Curious Subscribe. I just remembered something a lady I knew who was half Ethopian told me. She mentioned hot oil treatments with oils from that area of the world worked much better on her hair than other hot oil treatments. One of the oils was myrrh and can't remember the other. Honestly, I don't think that they are doing something special to their hair.

It's just genetics. I'm somali and I know alot of somali women with beautiful 1, 2 and 3 hair Crissi New Member. Last edited: Nov 1, Teacake New Member. Last edited: Nov 11, BrownSkin2 Well-Known Member. I also lived in the DC for a few years and the apartment I lived in, there were alot of Ethiopians living there. I believe it is pure genetics and diet. Also most of the Ethiopians women I've seen are slender females, and most of them are natural.

I see alot of rollersets and braid outs. Yup, they do cook alot of spicy, curry dishes with rice and peas Many of us here including me have tried Indian hair care products Alma and regimens. I don't have that type of hair, but my hair still benefited. I know that hair comes in different textures, types, so on and so on, but hair is still made up of the same things Why do we still think that if we don't have the same type of hair the same products and regime won't work?

We know that's not true The "mixing" of ancestry took place centuries ago. In many instances, African descended persons were the product of the continuous contact taking place across the Indian Ocean from as early as B. The Cholas of southern India for example were traders who traded with and often took wives from the African populations in the Indian Ocean and mainland Africa.

So yes, when you break it down like that, Ethiopians and other Africans in Africa are of "mixed ancestry. Not all people of African descent have wooly hair, however. Many of the populations of North East Africa have looser hair that is not as tightly coiled as that of most other Africans. Although Horn Africans are the only Africans who may have non-wooly hair without Arab or Berber admixture, Black Africans naturally differ in complexion and facial features as well without admixture with non-Blacks.

Safina87 said:. KiniKakes Well-Known Member. I deleted the messege that you replied to Kinikakes I wanted to write something much more explanatory. Anywhoo I'll be back and give you the full scoop on what Somali's are made up out of and what makes us look as we do. EDIT: lol why did you delete your message Kinikakes? Ethiopians, somalians, kenyan all east african countries are mixed with arabs. The orginial peoples of east africa had the distinct african features. There are many ethiopians who have the typical dark skinned, 4b hair and other prominent features.

Southern Arabs did settle into these east african countries. Intermarrying did happen. Alot of east african vocabulary originated from arabs. The abyssinia name, which is the ancient name for ethiopia is arabic.

Hence, my father is a product of this mixing. His maternal ancestry is ethiopian. His father is from Yemen, which is a southern arabic country. One of his ethiopian friends has the typical african features. My father was raised in Yemen. Vice versa, you will also find a lot of Arabs who are dark skinned and has african features because of the ancestral mixing.

On scrutinizing the region of mitochondrial sequence in Africans and Indians, Santachiara-Benerecetti and coworkers ruled out the possibility that the M haplogroups in eastern-African and Asian populations arose independently -- rather, they have a common African origin.