Overview
O1a1-CTS10887 is the principal paternal lineage associated with the indigenous peoples of Taiwan and forms one of the deepest identifiable roots of the Austronesian expansion. The clade originated during the late Pleistocene or early Holocene among coastal forager-farmer communities in southeast China and flourished during the Neolithic Dapenkeng horizon. CTS10887-bearing populations were central in the development of the cultural, linguistic and technological package that later spread from Taiwan into the Philippines and wider Island Southeast Asia.
Geographic distribution
Extremely common among Taiwanese indigenous groups such as the Amis, Atayal, Paiwan, and Bunun. Also found in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei as a founding Austronesian paternal element. Minor frequencies occur in southern China, especially Fujian and Guangdong.
Ancient DNA
- Archaeogenetic evidence from Neolithic Taiwan shows ancestry consistent with O1a1-related lineages.
- Linguistic reconstruction supports Taiwan as the proto-Austronesian homeland, aligning with CTS10887’s distribution.
- The clade predates major Austronesian maritime expansions into the Pacific.
Phylogeny & subclades
Sits directly under O1a, upstream of several Austronesian-specific branches. CTS10887 is one of the oldest and most stable anchors used to identify the paternal roots of the Austronesian ethnolinguistic family.
Notes & context
Critical for reconstructing the paternal ancestry of Austronesian-speaking peoples.
References & external links