Humans’ music and genes may have evolved together

Music may be a tool scientists can use to trace human migrations.

Researchers analyzed traditional folk songs and the mitochondrial DNA among nine indigenous populations of Taiwan and found an association between the diversity of the groups’ music and the variation in the groups’ genetic material.

The results provide the first measurable evidence that variation in music and genes can develop at the same time, the team reports November 12 in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Traditional songs of modern-day indigenous populations may also hold traces of ancient populations’ interactions and migrations, the researchers note. Music could therefore be a new marker, in addition to language, genes and other characteristics, that scientists use to retrace the paths that humans took around the world, they say.