Correlations in the population structure of music, genes and language

Proc. R. Soc. B • Vol/Iss. 281(1774) • The Royal Society • • Published In • Pages: 1-7 •
By Brown, Steven, Savage, Patrick E., Ko, Albert Min-Shan, Stoneking, Mark, Ko, Ying-Chin, Loo, Jun-Hun, Trejaut, Jean A.

Abstract

By testing relationships between musical, geographic, genetic, and linguistic distance among nine indigenous groups in Taiwan, the researchers aim to quantitatively evaluate a developing theory of coevolution between these traits. An especially strong correlation between musical variability and genetic distance suggests that music may possess worldwide time depth, diversity, and universality equal to or greater than that of language, and could thus serve as a complementary marker for reconstruction of long-term population shifts.
Documents and Hypotheses Filed By: jack.dunnington