The !Kung San are an African tribe located in Southern Africa. Today the !Kung can be found in the region of the Kalahari Desert, primarily in Angola, Namibia, and Botswana. In the literature, the !Kung San may also be known as !Kung, Zhu/twasi and Bushman to name a few. Although the complete history of the !Kung and just how long they have been in the area is unclear, modern archaeological evidence has shown that southern Africa was occupied by Later Stone Age peoples, who are thought to be ancestors of the !Kung and other San peoples. However, many people believe these ancestors date much further back then the Stone Age.

Traditionally, the !Kung are a nomadic tribe and rely on hunting and gathering as their primary means of subsistence. They are an egalitarian society with an emphasis on gift giving and reciprocity. The !Kung have a strong division of labor with the men hunting and the women foraging/gathering. They generally live in camps that number from 10 to 30 individuals, although the number of individuals in each camp may change from day to day. Their religion may be characterized as traditional nature animism. A few of the important characteristics of the !Kung religion include the use of male healers, use of trances by healers to both heal and communicate with their ancestors, and the belief in the supernatural. Although some !Kung still practice this traditional way of life, it is on varying levels. Many have had to alter their existence dramatically due to increasing interaction with other non-San peoples, particularly in the last 25 years. For example, many !Kung are now involved in farm labor, participating in government settlement schemes, relying on government handouts, and are becoming sedentary. These types of changes are ongoing for the !Kung.

Sample Name: !Kung

Sample UID: SA000691Q

Sample Description:This sample consists of !Kung from Botswana. The !Kung in this sample are Khoisan speakers with Khoisan characteristics.

Number of Chromosomes: 84

Relation to Other Samples: Superset of sample SA000527P

References:
- Romualdi C, Balding D, Nasidze IS, Risch G, Robichaux M, Sherry ST, Stoneking M, Batzer MA, Barbujani G. "Patterns of human diversity, within and among continents, inferred from Biallilic DNA polymorphisms". Genome Res 12:602-612. (2002) Online citation.

- Soodyall H, Vigilant L, Hill AV, Stoneking M, Jenkins T. "mtDNA control-region sequence variation suggests multiple independent origins of an "Asian-specific" 9-bp deletion in the Sub-Saharan Africans". Am J Hum Genet 58:595-608. (1996) Online citation.

- Stoneking M, Fontius JJ, Clifford SL, Soodyall H, Arcot SS, Saha N, Jenkins T, Tahir MA, Deininger PL, Batzer MA. "Alu insertion polymorphisms and human evolution: evidence for a larger population size in Africa ". Genome Res 7:1061-71. (1997) Online citation.

Sample Name: Zu/Wasi !Kung San

Sample UID: SA000094N

Sample Description:This sample was collected by T. Jenkins and H. Soodyall (University of the Witwatersrand) at the Omega military camp in northern Namibia from a population of Zu/Wasi !Kung San who originated from southern Angola.

Number of Chromosomes: 88

Relation to Other Samples:

References:
- Tishkoff SA, Dietzsch E, Speed W, Pakstis AJ, Cheung K, Kidd JR, Bonne-Tamir B, Santachiara-Benerecetti AS, Moral P, Watson E, Krings M, Paabo S, Risch N, Jenkins T, Kidd KK. "Global patterns of linkage disequilibrium at the CD4 locus and modern human origins". Science 271:1380-7. (1996) Online citation.

Sample Name: !Kung

Sample UID: SA000527O

Sample Description:This sample consists of !Kung from Botswana. The !Kung in this sample are Khoisan speakers with Khoisan characteristics.

Number of Chromosomes: 80

Relation to Other Samples:

References:
- Soodyall H, Vigilant L, Hill AV, Stoneking M, Jenkins T. "mtDNA control-region sequence variation suggests multiple independent origins of an "Asian-specific" 9-bp deletion in the Sub-Saharan Africans". Am J Hum Genet 58:595-608. (1996) Online citation.

Sample Name: !Kung

Sample UID: SA000592Q

Sample Description:This sample consists of !Kung from Botswana. The !Kung in this sample are Khoisan speakers with Khoisan characteristics.

Number of Chromosomes: 84

Relation to Other Samples: Superset of sample SA000527O

References:
- Soodyall H, Vigilant L, Hill AV, Stoneking M, Jenkins T. "mtDNA control-region sequence variation suggests multiple independent origins of an "Asian-specific" 9-bp deletion in the Sub-Saharan Africans". Am J Hum Genet 58:595-608. (1996) Online citation.

- Stoneking M, Fontius JJ, Clifford SL, Soodyall H, Arcot SS, Saha N, Jenkins T, Tahir MA, Deininger PL, Batzer MA. "Alu insertion polymorphisms and human evolution: evidence for a larger population size in Africa ". Genome Res 7:1061-71. (1997) Online citation.

Sample Name: !Kung

Sample UID: SA003741P

Sample Description:This sample consists of !Kung.

Number of Chromosomes: 26

Relation to Other Samples: Subset of SA000592Q

References:
- Watkins WS, Rogers AR, Ostler CT, Wooding S, Bamshad MJ, Brassington AM, Carroll ML, Nguyen SV, Walker JA, Prasad BV, Reddy PG, Das PK, Batzer MA, Jorde LB. "Genetic variation among world populations: inferences from 100 Alu insertion polymorphisms". Genome Res 13:1607-18. (2003) Online citation.

- Xing J, Watkins WS, Shlien A, Walker E, Huff CD, Witherspoon DJ, Zhang Y, Simonson TS, Weiss RB, Schiffman JD, Malkin D, Woodward SR, Jorde LB. "Toward a more uniform sampling of human genetic diversity: a survey of worldwide populations by high-density genotyping". Genomics 96:199-210. (2010) Online citation.

- Xing J, Watkins WS, Witherspoon DJ, Zhang Y, Guthery SL, Thara R, Mowry BJ, Bulayeva K, Weiss RB, Jorde LB. "Fine-scaled human genetic structure revealed by SNP microarrays". Genome Res. 19:815-25. (2009) Online citation.

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© 2012 Kenneth K Kidd, Yale University. All rights reserved. The full Copyright Notification is also available.
Originally prototyped by Michael Osier with the aid of Kei Cheung
Upgrades and maintenance since 2002 by Haseena Rajeevan