Genetic studies of populations have always delivered fascinating insights that serve as important links in the chain of human history. Now, a study mapping the ancient genetic history of Europeans has revealed that farming spread across Europe by the influx of people from ancient times from what is now eastern Turkey. The research has also found that the taller structure observed in many modern Europeans was also brought about by these ancient farmers and a subsequent influx of “horsemen” in the Bronze Age.

Ron Pinhasi of the School of Archaeology at the University of Dublin and a lead author on the study, said, “We now have the first clear evidence that agriculture in Europe started with the first farmers coming from what is now Turkey,” reports the BBC News. “This is very exciting because there's been a dispute for the last 40 years over whether that's the case or not,” he added.

DNA mapping was carried out for 230 ancient people who lived in Asia and West Europe from nearly 8,500 to 2,500 years ago. Out of these, some belonged to a group that gave rise to the first farmers in Europe.

The study adds weight to the mounting evidence towards two prehistoric events that significantly impacted the modern Europeans’ genetic make-up. The arrival of an ancestral early farmer “tribe” from Anatolia about 8,500 years ago is regarded as the first. The subsequent arrival of ancient horse-riding herders called Yanmaya, nearly 5,000 years ago, from the eastern Steppes – what is now modern-day Ukraine and Russia, is regarded as the second. These events left an impression on the genes for eye colour, susceptibility to various diseases and skin colour.

Pinhasi said, “Some have argued that it was diffusion of ideas but not of people. We now have the evidence that it was actually movement of people.”

The research has been published in the journal Nature.

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