scholarly journals The genomic history of the Iberian Peninsula over the past 8000 years

Science ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 363 (6432) ◽  
pp. 1230-1234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iñigo Olalde ◽  
Swapan Mallick ◽  
Nick Patterson ◽  
Nadin Rohland ◽  
Vanessa Villalba-Mouco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Iberian Peninsula ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Y Chromosomes ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Genome Wide Data ◽  
History Of ◽  
Genetic Substructure

We assembled genome-wide data from 271 ancient Iberians, of whom 176 are from the largely unsampled period after 2000 BCE, thereby providing a high-resolution time transect of the Iberian Peninsula. We document high genetic substructure between northwestern and southeastern hunter-gatherers before the spread of farming. We reveal sporadic contacts between Iberia and North Africa by ~2500 BCE and, by ~2000 BCE, the replacement of 40% of Iberia’s ancestry and nearly 100% of its Y-chromosomes by people with Steppe ancestry. We show that, in the Iron Age, Steppe ancestry had spread not only into Indo-European–speaking regions but also into non-Indo-European–speaking ones, and we reveal that present-day Basques are best described as a typical Iron Age population without the admixture events that later affected the rest of Iberia. Additionally, we document how, beginning at least in the Roman period, the ancestry of the peninsula was transformed by gene flow from North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean.

scholarly journals Ancient genomic time transect from the Central Asian Steppe unravels the history of the Scythians

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (13) ◽  
pp. eabe4414
Author(s):  
Guido Alberto Gnecchi-Ruscone ◽  
Elmira Khussainova ◽  
Nurzhibek Kahbatkyzy ◽  
Lyazzat Musralina ◽  
Maria A. Spyrou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Gene Pools ◽  
Social Rules ◽  
Eurasian Steppe ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Genome Wide Data ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Millennium

The Scythians were a multitude of horse-warrior nomad cultures dwelling in the Eurasian steppe during the first millennium BCE. Because of the lack of first-hand written records, little is known about the origins and relations among the different cultures. To address these questions, we produced genome-wide data for 111 ancient individuals retrieved from 39 archaeological sites from the first millennia BCE and CE across the Central Asian Steppe. We uncovered major admixture events in the Late Bronze Age forming the genetic substratum for two main Iron Age gene-pools emerging around the Altai and the Urals respectively. Their demise was mirrored by new genetic turnovers, linked to the spread of the eastern nomad empires in the first centuries CE. Compared to the high genetic heterogeneity of the past, the homogenization of the present-day Kazakhs gene pool is notable, likely a result of 400 years of strict exogamous social rules.

scholarly journals Genetic substructure and complex demographic history of South African Bantu speakers

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dhriti Sengupta ◽  
◽  
Ananyo Choudhury ◽  
Cesar Fortes-Lima ◽  
Shaun Aron ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Population Structure ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
Demographic History ◽  
Genome Wide Association Studies ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Scale Population ◽  
Genome Wide Data ◽  
Genetic Substructure

AbstractSouth Eastern Bantu-speaking (SEB) groups constitute more than 80% of the population in South Africa. Despite clear linguistic and geographic diversity, the genetic differences between these groups have not been systematically investigated. Based on genome-wide data of over 5000 individuals, representing eight major SEB groups, we provide strong evidence for fine-scale population structure that broadly aligns with geographic distribution and is also congruent with linguistic phylogeny (separation of Nguni, Sotho-Tswana and Tsonga speakers). Although differential Khoe-San admixture plays a key role, the structure persists after Khoe-San ancestry-masking. The timing of admixture, levels of sex-biased gene flow and population size dynamics also highlight differences in the demographic histories of individual groups. The comparisons with five Iron Age farmer genomes further support genetic continuity over ~400 years in certain regions of the country. Simulated trait genome-wide association studies further show that the observed population structure could have major implications for biomedical genomics research in South Africa.

scholarly journals Ancient genome-wide DNA from France highlights the complexity of interactions between Mesolithic hunter-gatherers and Neolithic farmers

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (22) ◽  
pp. eaaz5344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maïté Rivollat ◽  
Choongwon Jeong ◽  
Stephan Schiffels ◽  
İşil Küçükkalıpçı ◽  
Marie-Hélène Pemonge ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genomic Data ◽  
Biological Interactions ◽  
Genetic Affinity ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Near Eastern ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Cultural Pattern ◽  
Genome Wide Data ◽  
Genetic Substructure ◽  
Neolithic Expansion

Starting from 12,000 years ago in the Middle East, the Neolithic lifestyle spread across Europe via separate continental and Mediterranean routes. Genomes from early European farmers have shown a clear Near Eastern/Anatolian genetic affinity with limited contribution from hunter-gatherers. However, no genomic data are available from modern-day France, where both routes converged, as evidenced by a mosaic cultural pattern. Here, we present genome-wide data from 101 individuals from 12 sites covering today’s France and Germany from the Mesolithic (N = 3) to the Neolithic (N = 98) (7000–3000 BCE). Using the genetic substructure observed in European hunter-gatherers, we characterize diverse patterns of admixture in different regions, consistent with both routes of expansion. Early western European farmers show a higher proportion of distinctly western hunter-gatherer ancestry compared to central/southeastern farmers. Our data highlight the complexity of the biological interactions during the Neolithic expansion by revealing major regional variations.

scholarly journals Genetic-substructure and complex demographic history of South African Bantu speakers

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dhriti Sengupta ◽  
Ananyo Choudhury ◽  
Cesar Fortes-Lima ◽  
Shaun Aron ◽  
Gavin Whitelaw ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Population Structure ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
Demographic History ◽  
Genome Wide Association Studies ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Scale Population ◽  
Genome Wide Data ◽  
Genetic Substructure

AbstractSouth Eastern Bantu-speaking (SEB) groups constitute more than 80% of the population in South Africa. Despite clear linguistic and geographic diversity, the genetic differences between these groups have not been systematically investigated. Based on genome-wide data of over 5000 individuals, representing eight major SEB groups, we provide strong evidence for fine-scale population structure that broadly aligns with geographic distribution and is also congruent with linguistic phylogeny (separation of Nguni, Sotho-Tswana and Tsonga speakers). Although differential Khoe-San admixture plays a key role, the structure persists after Khoe-San ancestry-masking. The timing of admixture, levels of sex-biased gene flow and population size dynamics also highlight differences in the demographic histories of individual groups. The comparisons with five Iron Age farmer genomes further support genetic continuity over ∼400 years in certain regions of the country. Simulated trait genome-wide association studies further show that the observed population structure could have major implications for biomedical genomics research in South Africa.

scholarly journals Genetic legacy of state centralization in the Kuba Kingdom of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

2018 ◽  
Vol 116 (2) ◽  
pp. 593-598 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy van Dorp ◽  
Sara Lowes ◽  
Jonathan L. Weigel ◽  
Naser Ansari-Pour ◽  
Saioa López ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
Central Province ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Genetic Patterns ◽  
Genetic Impact ◽  
Genome Wide Data ◽  
Republic Of The Congo ◽  
History Of ◽  
State Centralization

Few phenomena have had as profound or long-lasting consequences in human history as the emergence of large-scale centralized states in the place of smaller scale and more local societies. This study examines a fundamental, and yet unexplored, consequence of state formation: its genetic legacy. We studied the genetic impact of state centralization during the formation of the eminent precolonial Kuba Kingdom of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in the 17th century. We analyzed genome-wide data from over 690 individuals sampled from 27 different ethnic groups from the Kasai Central Province of the DRC. By comparing genetic patterns in the present-day Kuba, whose ancestors were part of the Kuba Kingdom, with those in neighboring non-Kuba groups, we show that the Kuba today are more genetically diverse and more similar to other groups in the region than expected, consistent with the historical unification of distinct subgroups during state centralization. We also found evidence of genetic mixing dating to the time of the Kingdom at its most prominent. Using this unique dataset, we characterize the genetic history of the Kasai Central Province and describe the historic late wave of migrations into the region that contributed to a Bantu-like ancestry component found across large parts of Africa today. Taken together, we show the power of genetics to evidence events of sociopolitical importance and highlight how DNA can be used to better understand the behaviors of both people and institutions in the past.

scholarly journals Ancient DNA reveals a multistep spread of the first herders into sub-Saharan Africa

Science ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 365 (6448) ◽  
pp. eaaw6275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary E. Prendergast ◽  
Mark Lipson ◽  
Elizabeth A. Sawchuk ◽  
Iñigo Olalde ◽  
Christine A. Ogola ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Eastern Africa ◽  
Multiphase Model ◽  
Later Stone Age ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Genome Wide Data ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Pastoral Neolithic

How food production first entered eastern Africa ~5000 years ago and the extent to which people moved with livestock is unclear. We present genome-wide data from 41 individuals associated with Later Stone Age, Pastoral Neolithic (PN), and Iron Age contexts in what are now Kenya and Tanzania to examine the genetic impacts of the spreads of herding and farming. Our results support a multiphase model in which admixture between northeastern African–related peoples and eastern African foragers formed multiple pastoralist groups, including a genetically homogeneous PN cluster. Additional admixture with northeastern and western African–related groups occurred by the Iron Age. These findings support several movements of food producers while rejecting models of minimal admixture with foragers and of genetic differentiation between makers of distinct PN artifacts.

scholarly journals Phytomorphic carnelian pendants in the Late Bronze and Iron Ages of the Iberian Peninsula: origin, distribution, and significance

Complutum ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-47
Author(s):  
Francisco B. Gomes
Keyword(s):  
Iberian Peninsula ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Geographic Distribution ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Significant Part ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Prestige Goods

 First highlighted as possible markers for early, 2nd millennium BCE contacts between the Iberian Peninsula and the Eastern Mediterranean, phytomorphic carnelian pendants have become a significant part of the discussion on that subject. However, a number of new finds which have taken place in recent years have transformed the available image regarding both the geographic distribution and the chronological setting of these pieces. An updated overview is presented here, which suggests they should now preferably be considered as part of the array of prestige goods introduced in the Far West by Phoenician trade between the later stages of the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age

scholarly journals Paleolithic DNA from the Caucasus reveals core of West Eurasian ancestry

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iosif Lazaridis ◽  
Anna Belfer-Cohen ◽  
Swapan Mallick ◽  
Nick Patterson ◽  
Olivia Cheronet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Near East ◽  
Great Majority ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Western Anatolia ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
The Caucasus ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Population Turnover ◽  
Genome Wide Data ◽  
Relationship Of

AbstractThe earliest ancient DNA data of modern humans from Europe dates to ∼40 thousand years ago1-4, but that from the Caucasus and the Near East to only ∼14 thousand years ago5,6, from populations who lived long after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) ∼26.5-19 thousand years ago7. To address this imbalance and to better understand the relationship of Europeans and Near Easterners, we report genome-wide data from two ∼26 thousand year old individuals from Dzudzuana Cave in Georgia in the Caucasus from around the beginning of the LGM. Surprisingly, the Dzudzuana population was more closely related to early agriculturalists from western Anatolia ∼8 thousand years ago8 than to the hunter-gatherers of the Caucasus from the same region of western Georgia of ∼13-10 thousand years ago5. Most of the Dzudzuana population’s ancestry was deeply related to the post-glacial western European hunter-gatherers of the ‘Villabruna cluster’3, but it also had ancestry from a lineage that had separated from the great majority of non-African populations before they separated from each other, proving that such ‘Basal Eurasians’6,9 were present in West Eurasia twice as early as previously recorded5,6. We document major population turnover in the Near East after the time of Dzudzuana, showing that the highly differentiated Holocene populations of the region6 were formed by ‘Ancient North Eurasian’3,9,10 admixture into the Caucasus and Iran and North African11,12 admixture into the Natufians of the Levant. We finally show that the Dzudzuana population contributed the majority of the ancestry of post-Ice Age people in the Near East, North Africa, and even parts of Europe, thereby becoming the largest single contributor of ancestry of all present-day West Eurasians.

scholarly journals A dynamic 6,000-year genetic history of Eurasia’s Eastern Steppe

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Choongwon Jeong ◽  
Ke Wang ◽  
Shevan Wilkin ◽  
William Timothy Treal Taylor ◽  
Bryan K. Miller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Population History ◽  
Complex Interplay ◽  
Cultural Changes ◽  
Genetic History ◽  
Nomadic Pastoralists ◽  
Eurasian Steppe ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Genome Wide Data ◽  
History Of

SummaryThe Eastern Eurasian Steppe was home to historic empires of nomadic pastoralists, including the Xiongnu and the Mongols. However, little is known about the region’s population history. Here we reveal its dynamic genetic history by analyzing new genome-wide data for 214 ancient individuals spanning 6,000 years. We identify a pastoralist expansion into Mongolia ca. 3000 BCE, and by the Late Bronze Age, Mongolian populations were biogeographically structured into three distinct groups, all practicing dairy pastoralism regardless of ancestry. The Xiongnu emerged from the mixing of these populations and those from surrounding regions. By comparison, the Mongols exhibit much higher Eastern Eurasian ancestry, resembling present-day Mongolic-speaking populations. Our results illuminate the complex interplay between genetic, sociopolitical, and cultural changes on the Eastern Steppe.

scholarly journals Towards a new history and geography of human genes informed by ancient DNA

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Pickrell ◽  
David Reich
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
Ancient Dna ◽  
Population Replacement ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Geographic Locations ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Human Genes ◽  
Genome Wide Data ◽  
History Of

Genetic information contains a record of the history of our species, and technological advances have transformed our ability to access this record. Many studies have used genome-wide data from populations today to learn about the peopling of the globe and subsequent adaptation to local conditions. Implicit in this research is the assumption that the geographic locations of people today are informative about the geographic locations of their ancestors in the distant past. However, it is now clear that long-range migration, admixture and population replacement have been the rule rather than the exception in human history. In light of this, we argue that it is time to critically re-evaluate current views of the peopling of the globe and the importance of natural selection in determining the geographic distribution of phenotypes. We specifically highlight the transformative potential of ancient DNA. By accessing the genetic make-up of populations living at archaeologically-known times and places, ancient DNA makes it possible to directly track migrations and responses to natural selection.

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