Genetic Evidence for Neolithic Farmer Invasion

(August 29, 2024) Images show the matrilineal genetic closeness (green) of modern populations compared to a representative sample of Neolithic burials (image A) and to the Neolithic burials at one northern German cemetery (Image B) at Derenburg dating to the Linear Pottery culture of 5500-4500 BCE. This and other studies show that northern Mesopotamian genetics spread with the neolithic farming culture. These neolithic farmers originated in northern Mesopotamia where Akkadian was the native language according to cuneiform writing. They spent about 2000 years in Anatolia where their culture differentiated from Mesopotamia before exploding across Europe. (Map from Haak and all 2010)

Dr. David W. Anthony: “How ancient DNA revived ancient migrations in archaeology” (2021)

(Jan 7, 2023) One of the leading experts on the Indo-European invasion gives his insight into the process in light of the new genetic evidence. I was not aware that the Indo-Europeans also seem to have been carriers for an early version of what would later be called the Black Death. This may have killed off many of the Neolithic farmers without warfare.

While he still claims the horse and cart were the main cause of their population increase I am skeptical. While they were important to their new more intensive way of farming they were just one component of this new more intensive farming culture, a culture to which most Neolithic farmers did not adopt.

Most European Indo-European Culture Originated with the Yamnaya People

(June 20, 2023) This video is a good introduction to Indo-European cultural origins. My only complaint is that the Indo-Europeans need to be considered as semi-nomads and not pure nomads. They had farming settlements along their rivers and their genetics is 18% Anatolian farmer. The Indo-Europeans had integrated nomadism with by settled farming making both more productive and mutually supportive. Metalworking technology requires permanent settlements with established trade routes.

When the Indo-Europeans entered Europe they found lots of vacant fields already cleared of trees and free for the taking. Neolithic farming culture away from marshes and rivers practiced slash and burn agriculture. When the fertility of their fields faltered they simply moved on.

References

Anthony, David (2019) Archaeology, Genetics, and Language in the Steppes: A Comment on Bomhard. Journal of Indo-European Studies. Online at: https://www.academia.edu/39985565/Archaeology_Genetics_and_Language_in_the_Steppes_A_Comment_on_Bomhard

The Migration of Farmers into Europe

Great video by David Reich on historical genetics on the migration patterns into Europe. He is one of the leading researchers in the field.

Interaction Between Indo-Europeans and Neolithic Farmers in West Europe

Historical genetic resolution is still increasing as as more genetic research is done. This recent report from geneticists led by David Reich and Iosif Lazaridis of Harvard University presents the results of sampling DNA from more than 700 individuals who lived and died in the Near East and Eastern Europe over a span of 10,000 years.
The Akkadian speaking Neolithic farmers of Anatolia who entered Europe were a mixture of two earlier sources dating between 10,000 to 6,500 BCE. One source came from today’s Iraq and Syria while the other source came from the Levant.
The Indo-European invaders also came in two waves. The first group arrived in Anatolia starting about 5,000 BCE. They were followed around 3,000 BCE by the Yamnaya from the steppes north of the Black Sea. The Yamnaya added to the genetic picture without really changing the percentages of Indo-European genetics.
Image from Iosif Lazaridis. Online at: https://twitter.com/iosif_lazaridis/status/1562867952692899840/photo/1

(updated Jan. 15, 2025) Chart showing calculated population replacement percentages in Britain. From David Reich: "Origins of Humans and Culture" below. BUT! Such extreme levels of replacement likely involve some sample bias because DNA from the poorly buried and cremations cannot be sampled. Contradicting this extreme replacement of the first farmers is archaeological evidence showing that a substantial amount of Neolithic farmer material traditions continued into the Indo-European era (see Booth and all 2021). Also the Neolithic Akkadian language continued. Yet some murder did happen (see Otzi the Iceman). What is certain is that DNA from the Indo-Europeans was introduced into the area around 4500 BCE. The Neolithic farmer (6000 BP) and Indo-European (4500 BP) replacements also involved increased economic productivity leading to population swamping.

David Reich – How One Small Tribe Conquered the World 70,000 Years Ago

(September 2, 2024) Dwarkesh Patel interviews David Riech about his latest thoughts on ancient genetic history. Humans exhibit 4 time scale levels of change: genetics, epigenetics, culture, and reason. Epigenetics is the new concept in which a very small section of genes code for the expression strength of all other sections. Epigenetics seems to have changed the vocal tract and hence language abilities.

He has some new insights on the Indo-European expansion. It started with the Yamnaya people who were only adapted to steppe living so could not and did not expand into the forests of Europe. Instead, over a period of time, they mixed with the people at the forest edge represented by the Corded-Ware material tradition (3000 BC – 2350 BCE). It was the males of this new mixed culture who then conquered the rest of Europe.

Exhibit C: Akkadian Speaking Neolithic Farmers For Both Europe and India Came Out of North Mesopotamia / Southern Anatolia (Gobekli Tepe)

(July 19, 2022, updated May 19, 2025) Recent genetic evidence shows that Neolithic farmers migrated out of Anatolia / Northern Mesopotamia starting around 8500 BCE (see images). The Indo-European invasion began around 3500 BCE. Akkadian farming culture developed at along the geographic border of the Anatolian hills and Mesopotamian plains which is the location of the Gobekli Tepe culture (9500 BCE to 8000 BCE). In contrast, the Sumerian culture and language developed further south in the flood plains of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers.

This means the builders of Stonehenge spoke Akkadian. Stonehenge was built in several stages starting around 3000 BCE and continuing until about 2400 BCE. The Indo-European bell-beaker culture arrived in Britain around 2400 BCE.

References

Spread of Farminghttps://scholar.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/bogucki_1996_spread_farming_europe_american_scientist.pdf
Genetics of Early Farmers at: https://www.eupedia.com/europe/origins_haplogroups_europe.shtml
Booth TJ, Brück J, Brace S, Barnes I. (2021) Tales from the Supplementary Information: Ancestry Change in Chalcolithic–Early Bronze Age Britain Was Gradual with Varied Kinship Organization. Cambridge Archaeological Journal. 31(3):379-400. https://doi:10.1017/S0959774321000019
Curry, Andrew (August 25, 2022) ‘Phenomenal’ ancient DNA data set provides clues to origin of farming and early languages. Online at: https://www.science.org/content/article/phenomenal-ancient-dna-data-set-provides-clues-origin-farming-early-languages
Gronenborn, Detlef and Horejs, Barbara (2021) Expansion of farming in western Eurasia, 9600 - 4000 cal BC (update vers. 2021.2. Online at: https://www.academia.edu/9424525/Map_Expansion_of_farming_in_western_Eurasia_9600_4000_cal_BC_update_vers_2021_1_
Haak, Wolfgang and all (2010) Ancient DNA from European Early Neolithic Farmers Reveals Their Near Eastern Affinities. Online at: https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.1000536)
Hamon, C. and Manen, C. (2021) The Mechanisms of Neolithisation of Western Europe: Beyond a South/North Approach. Open Archaeology Volume 7 Issue 1. Online at: https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2020-0164

Map showing the distribution of mitochondrial Haplogroup H among modern populations which is the main marker for Neolithic farmer migrations. This genetic mutation originated in modern day Syria around 23,000 BCE. Not well shown on the map is that the Basques in Spain have a high percentage (28%) of this haplogroup meaning that their unique language should have more Akkadian than other European languages.
from Wikipedia Commons via Alvarez and all (2009) at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spatial_frequency_distribution_of_different_sub-lineages_of_mtDNA_haplogroup_H.png

Mitochondrial genealogy of the main haplogroups. Since language would have been mostly transmitted to the next generation by the mothers, this haplogroup genealogy is also likely the genealogy of ancient language. from Wikipedia at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haplogroup_H_(mtDNA)

(updated January 21, 2025) This video by GeoNomad introduces the Y-DNA of the people who built Stonehenge. This male genome mostly disappears after 3000 BC. The video introduces the Y-DNA of the people who overwhelmed them. It also maps the geographic features of the British Isles from the Ice Age to 6000 BC. This no longer appears to be a genocide of the males because the Neolithic material culture continued (but not the monolith building). Instead it is more likely due to elite burial sample bias and economic advantage due to being more numerous and prosperous farmers using crop rotation.

Neolithic Farmer Genetics

(August 20, 2022) The main genetic marker for the Neolithic farmers is the female side mitochondrial DNA haplogroup H. A mitochondria is an organelle in the cell body which generates energy for the cell. Thus it only exists in the egg and from there it is transmitted to future offspring only by the mother.

Haplogroup H had frequency of 19% among Neolithic Early European Farmers and is virtually absent among Mesolithic European hunter gatherers. (Brotherton and all 2013)

Haplogroup H was also present in the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture. Nikitin and all (2017)

The clade has been observed among ancient Egyptian mummies excavated at the Abusir el-Meleq archaeological site in Middle Egypt, which date from the pre-Ptolemaic/late New Kingdom and Ptolemaic periods. Schuenemann and all (2017)

Additionally, haplogroup H has been found among specimens at the mainland cemetery in Kulubnarti, Sudan, which date from the Early Christian period (AD 550–800). Sirak (2016)

References

Álvarez-Iglesias V, Mosquera-Miguel A, Cerezo M, Quintáns B, Zarrabeitia MT, Cuscó I, et al. (2009) New Population and Phylogenetic Features of the Internal Variation within Mitochondrial DNA Macro-Haplogroup R0. PLoS ONE 4(4): e5112. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0005112 http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0005112
Brotherton P, Haak W, Templeton J, Brandt G, Soubrier J, Jane Adler C, et al. (2013). "Neolithic mitochondrial haplogroup H genomes and the genetic origins of Europeans". Nature Communications. 4: 1764. Bibcode:2013NatCo...4.1764.. doi:10.1038/ncomms2656. PMC 3978205. PMID 23612305.
Nikitin AG, Potekhina I, Rohland N, Mallick S, Reich D, Lillie M (2017). "Mitochondrial DNA analysis of eneolithic trypillians from Ukraine reveals neolithic farming genetic roots". PLOS ONE. 12 (2): e0172952. Bibcode:2017PLoSO..1272952N. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0172952. PMC 5325568. PMID 28235025.
Schuenemann VJ, Peltzer A, Welte B, van Pelt WP, Molak M, Wang CC, et al. (May 2017). "Ancient Egyptian mummy genomes suggest an increase of Sub-Saharan African ancestry in post-Roman periods". Nature Communications. 8: 15694. Bibcode:2017NatCo...815694S. doi:10.1038/ncomms15694. PMC 5459999. PMID 28556824.
Sirak K, Frenandes D, Novak M, Van Gerven D, Pinhasi R (2016). "Abstract Book of the IUAES Inter-Congress 2016 – A community divided? Revealing the community genome(s) of Medieval Kulubnarti using next- generation sequencing". Abstract Book of the Iuaes Inter-Congress 2016. IUAES: 115.
Wikipedia (2022) at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haplogroup_H_(mtDNA)

Europe's (Highly Debated) Prehistoric Plague

(January 22, 2025) This is another great video from Stefan Milo. The evidence is starting to get quite strong that plague, from an early form of Yersinia Pestis, played a role in depopulating the land of Neolithic farmers. This weakened their culture and left empty land for Indo-European settlement without any major conflict.

Origins of Humans and Culture

David Reich: "Origins of Humans and Culture" made in 2021. He is one of the leading researchers in the field. https://reich.hms.harvard.edu/

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