Figure 9.

A Sketch Map for the Origins and Demographic History of Sherpas and Tibetans

This simplified model of the origins and evolutionary history of Sherpas and Tibetans is based on the observations and estimations from this study. The two dashed lines connecting HAN and TBN and connecting TBN and SHP represent possible gene flow between populations. Abbreviations are as follows: MRCA0, most recent common ancestor of modern human and archaic hominoids;¹⁴ MRCA1, most recent common ancestor of Eurasians; MRCA2, most recent common ancestor of HAN and TIB; MRCA3, most recent common ancestor of TBN and SHP; SUNDer: a tentative label for the early settlers who contributed ancient or archaic ancestry to present-day Tibetan highlanders.