Ancient DNA Reveals Comprehensive Genomic History of the “Cradle of Civilization”



Iosif Lazaridis, David Reich, and colleagues give a thorough genetic history of the so-called "Southern Arc," an area that spans southern Europe and Western Asia and has long been regarded as the "cradle of Western civilisation."

A complex population history from the earliest farming civilizations through post-Medieval times is shown in the investigation, which looked at newly sequenced ancient DNA from more than 700 people in the region. Most of the stories of the people and populations of the Southern Arc's ancient past have, up until very recently, been told through archaeological findings and the thousands of years' worth of local historical chronicles and manuscripts. However, advancements in the sequencing of ancient DNA have given rise to a brand-new reservoir of historical data.

Lazaridis et al. construct a thorough genetic history of the Southern Arc from the Neolithic (about 10,000 BCE) to the Ottoman period (around 1700 CE) using ancient DNA from the remains of 777 individuals. The findings give a detailed account of the intricate population interactions and migrations that have altered the area over thousands of years. According to the study, the former emphasis on ancient literature and art as well as modern demographic history has given an erroneous picture of early Indo-European cultures.

Bronze Age Karashamb Necropolis' main vista 26 people from this site's Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages are included in the study. Credit: Varduhi and Pavel Avetsiyan

The new dataset is introduced in the first study, "The genetic history of the Southern Arc: a bridge between West Asia and Europe." Additionally, it provides a study that concentrates on the Chalcolithic and Bronze Ages (roughly 5000 to 1000 BCE). Large genetic exchanges between the Eurasian Steppe and the Southern Arc were found by this investigation, which also sheds fresh light on how the Yamnaya steppe pastoralists developed and the origins of the Indo-European language.

First ancient DNA from Pre-Pottery Neolithic Mesopotamia from the epicenter of the region's Neolithic Revolution is presented in the second study, "Ancient DNA from Mesopotamia reveals different Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic migrations into Anatolia." According to the research, there were two major waves of migration from the Fertile Crescent heartland during the Neolithic Pre-Pottery and Pottery eras of Anatolia.

In the third study, "A genetic inquiry into the ancient and medieval history of Southern Europe and West Asia," ancient DNA analysis from the time of human habitation in the Southern Arc is the main topic of discussion. Additionally, it clarifies the obscure geographic and demographic roots of peoples like the Romans, Urartians, and Myceneans.

According to Benjamin Arbuckle and Zoe Schwandt in a related Perspective, "The studies by Lazaridis et al. represent an important milestone for ancient genomic research, providing a rich dataset and diverse observations that will drive the next iteration of interpretations of the human history of West Eurasia." Arbuckle and Schwandt point out the difficulties and restrictions of the interpretations, contending that many of the narratives examined across the three studies reflect a Eurocentric worldview despite the authors' acknowledgement that Lazaridis et al. have created a "astonishing dataset, unimaginable in its scale just a decade ago."

See Vast Genetic Study Reveals Insights Into Migration Patterns and Language Development for additional information on this study.

By AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE (AAAS) 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Do You Sleep on Your Back or Side? Here's The Research on 'Optimal' Sleep Positions

Image
William Dement, a renowned sleep researcher at Stanford University, is quoted as saying that after 50 years of study, the only reason he can think of for why we sleep is "because we become sleepy." Sleep certainly matters for our health and wellbeing even though it may be, as one researcher put it, "the sole major habit in quest of a function." Do we, however, have it right? What do studies on sleeping positions say? Is there a proper sleeping position? The majority of people favor sleeping on their side. This is encouraging news because people who sleep on their backs are more likely to have trouble falling asleep or breathing during the night. Most of the time, we have a tendency to shift around quite a bit at night. According to a study involving 664 sleepers, on average, participants slept on their side 54% of the time, their back 37% of the time, and their front 7% of the time. Males are more likely to change positions throughout the night and move their arms, ...
Read more

North America’s Rarest Snake Found Dead

Image
The Tantilla oolitica (rim rock crowned snake), the rarest snake in North America, was recently rediscovered in a Florida Keys park after a four-year hiatus. Even though a snake encounter would normally be cause for celebration among conservationists, it was more of a source of astounding wonder than anything else. The snake was found to be dead, fighting a large centipede that it had partially swallowed in a lifeless battle. Experts haven't previously observed the snake's feeding patterns due to the tragic confrontation. T. oolitica is so uncommon that no one knew what it consumed until now, despite the fact that it is well known that closely related species enjoy centipedes. Researchers from the Florida Museum of Natural History CT scanned the entangled pair and just published their results in the journal Ecology. Coleman Sheehy, co-author and manager of the herpetology collection at the Florida Museum, remarked, "I was surprised when I first viewed the images. "Sam...
Read more

Breakthrough: Physicists Take Particle Self-Assembly to New Level by Mimicking Biology

Image
A group of physicists have developed a brand-new technique for self-assembling particles. This development offers fresh hope for creating intricate and cutting-edge materials at the tiny scale. Self-assembly, which was developed in the early 2000s, provides scientists with a way to "pre-program" particles, enabling the creation of materials without additional human involvement. This is essentially the smallest version of self-assembling Ikea furniture. The discovery, which was published today, September 28, in the journal Nature, focuses on emulsions—oil droplets dissolved in water—and how they might be used to help foldamers self-assemble. The sequence of droplet interactions can possibly be used to anticipate these particular shapes. Through interactions between blue-blue, blue-yellow, and eventually yellow-yellow droplets, which are all mediated by sticky DNA strands, a chain of alternating blue and yellow droplets folds into a crown shape in microscopy images. The image a...
Read more