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Distribution of the 'Yamnaya' genetic component in the populations of Europe (data taken from Haak et al., 2015). The intensity of the colour corresponds to the contribution of this component in various modern populations. The scale of intervals is to the right. The purple line represents the borders of the Yamnaya area. The brown arrow shows the direction of migration postulated by the proponents of a Yamnaya origin for the Indo-Europeans of Europe. The red arrows show the direction of the movement of the 'Yamnaya' component in accordance with the gradient shown on this distribution. The map shows that the 'Yamnaya' genetic component is hardly Yamnaya in origin; rather it is a more ancient component originating in the populations of northern Europe from whence it spread both to the steppes and to the cultures of central Europe and elsewhere. Map by O.P. Balanovsky.
Source publication
Two co-authored articles in Nature (Haak et al., 2015; Allentoft et al., 2015) caused a sensation. They revealed genetically the mass migration of steppe Yamnaya culture people in the Early Bronze Age to central and northern Europe. The authors considered this event as the basis of the spread of Indo-European languages. In response, the Russian arc...
Context in source publication
Context 1
... have already stressed (Klejn, 2015a(Klejn, , 2015b(Klejn, , 2015c) a remarkable fact: the strange distribution of the genetic 'steppe' contributions to the Corded Ware cultures and their descendants revealed in Haak et al. (2015): very rich in the north of Europe and increasingly weaker towards the south, in Hungary, just where the western edge of the Yamnaya culture itself is located. This distribution is at odds with the suggestion that the source of the contribution to the Corded Ware cultures is the Yamnaya culture in the south-east; but the same distribution appears quite natural if one suggests that the common source (of both cultural units) is located in the north of Europe-hence the common cause of the genetic similarity ( Figure 2). The respected Ukrainian archaeologist L.L. Zaliznyak (2005) has proposed to shift the date of the Proto-Indo-European language to the Late Mesolithic-Early Neolithic (sixth-fifth millennia BC) so as to better correspond to the glotto- chronological datings mentioned above. On archaeological and physical anthropo- logical grounds, he reconstructs the move- ment of Maglemose and post-Maglemose (Ertebølle-Ellerbeck) populations of Jutland and the south-eastern Baltic region to the Dnieper and Donets areas (Figure 3). Consequently, a large area from the Baltic to the Dnieper was settled by people with similar archaeological, physical anthropological, and supposedly genetic characteristics-the cradle of Indo- European peoples, according to ...
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Citations
... The chronology, sources, and spatiality of the IE migrations, however, remain topics of heated discussion. Specifically, researchers disagree on which early archaeological phenomenon represents the source of early IE migration (Grigoriyev 2002;Klejn et al. 2017). ...
This book examines the impact of ancient DNA research and scientific evidence on our understanding of the emergence of Indo-European languages in prehistory. Offering cutting-edge contributions from an international team of scholars, it considers the driving forces behind the Indo-European migrations during the 3rd and 2nd millenia BC. The volume explores the rise of the world's first pastoral nomads the Yamnaya Culture in the Russian Pontic steppe including their social organization, expansions, and the transition from nomadism to semi-sedentism when entering Europe. It also traces the chariot conquest in the late Bronze Age and its impact on the expansion of the Indo-Iranian languages into Central Asia. In the final section, the volumes consider the development of hierarchical societies and the origins of slavery. A landmark synthesis of recent, exciting discoveries, the book also includes an extensive theoretical discussion regarding the integration of linguistics, genetics, and archaeology, and the importance of interdisciplinary research in the study of ancient migration.
... The chronology, sources, and spatiality of the IE migrations, however, remain topics of heated discussion. Specifically, researchers disagree on which early archaeological phenomenon represents the source of early IE migration (Grigoriyev 2002;Klejn et al. 2017). ...
This book examines the impact of ancient DNA research and scientific evidence on our understanding of the emergence of Indo-European languages in prehistory. Offering cutting-edge contributions from an international team of scholars, it considers the driving forces behind the Indo-European migrations during the 3rd and 2nd millenia BC. The volume explores the rise of the world's first pastoral nomads the Yamnaya Culture in the Russian Pontic steppe including their social organization, expansions, and the transition from nomadism to semi-sedentism when entering Europe. It also traces the chariot conquest in the late Bronze Age and its impact on the expansion of the Indo-Iranian languages into Central Asia. In the final section, the volumes consider the development of hierarchical societies and the origins of slavery. A landmark synthesis of recent, exciting discoveries, the book also includes an extensive theoretical discussion regarding the integration of linguistics, genetics, and archaeology, and the importance of interdisciplinary research in the study of ancient migration.
... The chronology, sources, and spatiality of the IE migrations, however, remain topics of heated discussion. Specifically, researchers disagree on which early archaeological phenomenon represents the source of early IE migration (Grigoriyev 2002;Anthony 2007;Allentoft et al. 2015;Klejn et al. 2017). ...
This book examines the impact of ancient DNA research and scientific evidence on our understanding of the emergence of Indo-European languages in prehistory. Offering cutting-edge contributions from an international team of scholars, it considers the driving forces behind the Indo-European migrations during the 3rd and 2nd millenia BC. The volume explores the rise of the world's first pastoral nomads the Yamnaya Culture in the Russian Pontic steppe including their social organization, expansions, and the transition from nomadism to semi-sedentism when entering Europe. It also traces the chariot conquest in the late Bronze Age and its impact on the expansion of the Indo-Iranian languages into Central Asia. In the final section, the volumes consider the development of hierarchical societies and the origins of slavery. A landmark synthesis of recent, exciting discoveries, the book also includes an extensive theoretical discussion regarding the integration of linguistics, genetics, and archaeology, and the importance of interdisciplinary research in the study of ancient migration.
... We do not have easy answers to these questions, but it is worth noting that similar ones appear in ongoing and lively discussions (e.g. Vander Linden 2016; Heyd 2017; Klejn 2017; Klejn et al. 2017;Kristiansen et al. 2017;Furholt 2018;Furholt 2019a;Furholt 2019b;Furholt 2021). We do not intend to address the various threads of these discussions in this article, although we agree do with those who see the need to rethink archaeology paradigms in the context of the archaeogenetics experience. ...
The theory of Indo-Europeanization of the continent can be seen as a focal point in all Marija Gimbutas’s work and in her role in the history of archaeology. This theory has combined various directions of her interests and revealed the theoretical and methodological foundations of her research. This paper recalls the theory itself and its development, as well as its importance for European archaeology. The vicissitudes of this theory, which can be metaphorically described as the triad: reception – rejection – revitalization, illustrate the transformations of archaeology in the second half of the 20th century and in the first decades of the 21st century. Keywords: Europe, steppe area, language changes, history of archaeology.
... В то время как археологи часто реконструировали долговременную культурную преемственность, данные генетики однозначно свидетельствовали о значительной смене населения во многих регионах Центральной и Восточной Европы. Причиной последнего явления предложено было считать экспансию носителей ямной культуры (Heyd 2017;Nikitin et al. 2017;Klejn et al. 2018). ...
The study of the Early Metal Age cultures of Europe has greatly improved during the last decades. New studies have been centered not only on aspects of the material culture and burial rites, but also on the chronology of the different complexes, their spread, eventually genetic evidence, and cultural transmission. Moreover, the study of the steppe zones of
south-eastern Europe has improved thanks to the excavation and publication of new burial grounds and important settlement sites. This paper considers a few cultural aspects that made their appearance around the beginning of the Subboreal climatic period in northern Italy, among which is the so-called Chalcolithic Remedello Culture. As far as we can understand, not only the aDNA evidence, but also the presence of a few unique grave goods, including hammer-headed pins, suggest that some kind of intercultural relationship existed with south-eastern Europe, which the authors think are most probably due to cultural transmission
... Häufig fehlt darüber hinaus eine archäologische Auseinandersetzung zum Thema Migrationen, welche Genetik und Archäologie gemeinsam und detailliert untersucht (vgl. Kritiken dazu: Furholt 2018; Klejn et al. 2017;Heyd 2017). Obwohl eine Vielzahl verschiedener Migrationsbewegungen und Auswirkungen stattfinden können, wird lediglich eine Massenmigration angenommen, deren einzig diskutierte Folge die Einbringung genetischer, linguistischer und archäologischer Elemente über weite Teile Europas behandelt (vgl. ...
... Unabhängig von deren Nachweisbarkeit und Art der Migration sind unterschiedliche Folgen denkbar: die Möglichkeit von Steppenmigrationen im Zusammenhang mit der Verbreitung der Schnurkeramik zum Teil kontrovers diskutiert (Furholt 2018;Klejn et al. 2017;Kristiansen et al. 2017;Heyd 2017;Häusler 1996). Detaillierte und umfassende Studien auf Basis der archäologischen Hinterlassenschaften aller involvierten archäologischen Gruppen, die mögliche Migrationsbewegungen untersuchen, stehen noch aus und sind zum Teil mit Schwierigkeiten verbunden. ...
This book deals with the question of whether and how social identities changed in the German Lower Mountain Range at the end of the 3rd mill. BCE. It is stated that the transition from Late to Final Neolithic is accompanied by major changes in burial practices, possibly influenced by migration processes from the North Pontic steppe landscape.
To answer the question of whether changes of social identities and burial practices were influenced by these migration processes, social group identities are reconstructed and analysed for transformational processes. Thus, this regional case study of the transition of the 3rd mill. BCE offers a social perspective on the archaeological changes as well as on findings from previous and recent aDNA studies.
It becomes evident that the expression of group identities between the Late and Final Neolithic shifts from collective identities to the expression of individuals and their social roles. Possible reasons and triggers for this social transformation are considered alongside migration processes. The outcome is an interweaving of local practices and large-scale phenomena that were negotiated differently in local contexts. Depending on the scale, the networks demonstrate homogeneity over large parts of Central Europe or the diversity of local groups.
... The question of the diffusion of Indo-European languages has been a hot topic in the last few years 23,52,[73][74][75] . Linguistic analyses point either to Anatolia 74 or the Pontic Steppe 75 as the region where the Indo-European languages originated. ...
Since prehistoric times, southern Central Asia has been at the crossroads of the movement of people, culture, and goods. Today, the Central Asian populations are divided into two cultural and linguistic groups: the Indo-Iranian and the Turko-Mongolian groups. Previous genetic studies unveiled that migrations from East Asia contributed to the spread of Turko-Mongolian populations in Central Asia and the partial replacement of the Indo-Iranian populations. However, little is known about the origin of the latters. To shed light on this, we compare the genetic data on two current-day Indo-Iranian populations — Yaghnobis and Tajiks — with genome-wide data from published ancient individuals. The present Indo-Iranian populations from Central Asia display a strong genetic continuity with Iron Age samples from Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. We model Yaghnobis as a mixture of 93% Iron Age individual from Turkmenistan and 7% from Baikal. For the Tajiks, we observe a higher Baikal ancestry and an additional admixture event with a South Asian population. Our results, therefore, suggest that in addition to a complex history, Central Asia shows a remarkable genetic continuity since the Iron Age, with only limited gene flow.
... 3 Equally, genes are not always 2 Hypotheses about a Balkan homeland (Dyakonov 1982(Dyakonov , 1982aSafronov 1989;Makkay 1987;Kristinsson 2012: 386-389) connect the origins of the Balkan Neolithic and Eneolithic cultures with Anatolia, and thus are a variant of the Anatolian hypothesis, but these have so far been only weakly confirmed. A few hypotheses about the connection of the PIE area with Mesolithic complexes of Northern Europe have also been proposed (Boettcher 1999; Klejn 2017). Finally, there are assorted unlikely theories, such as the idea that the Iranians migrated to Iran from India, and that thus the subcontinent was not only the homeland of the Aryans, but possibly of all IE languages (Misra 2005: 227, 228), but these have no linguistic or archaeological justification. ...
The article is devoted to the problem of localization of the Indo-European homeland. It is one of the most complicated problems of Archaeology and linguistics, and in recent years has been informed by paleogenetic studies as well. From the Neolithic to the end of the Bronze Age, the main cultural impulses that formed the archaeological cultures of Eurasia spread from the Near East. Evidences of migration from the north to the regions where southern Indo-European languages are recorded (Anatolian, Armenian, and Indo-Iranian) are very limited or absent. Archaeologically reconstructed migrations, in general, correspond to the gene flaws from the Near East to Europe, to
the Eurasian steppe and to the east, to Iran and India. At the same time, repeated migrations took place in the regions where Indo-Europeans had appeared before, as well as back migrations. Areas of secondary contacts also complicate linguistic reconstruction. Judging by these data, the homeland of the Indo-Europeans was situated on the Armenian Highland, but from there secondary homelands could also form, where individual Indo-European dialects developed or processes of their convergence could take place.
... Until now, the most plausible hypothesis about the earliest horse domestication has been related to the Pontic-Caspian steppes [61] . The Yamnaya (Pit-grave) culture is an ancient late Copper Age to early Bronze Age local Asian archaeological culture, which occupied the Pontic-Caspian steppe around 330 0-260 0 BC [34,62,63] . Migrations of Yamnaya herders to the Altai gave rise to another local eneolithic Asian culture, the Afanasievo culture (c. 3300 -2500 BC), which is considered as the earliest known archaeolog- ical culture of South Siberia during the Eneolithic era [64] . ...
The question about the time and the place of horse domestication, a process which had a profound impact on the progress of mankind, is disputable. According to the most widely accepted hypothesis, the earliest domestication of the horse happened in the western parts of the Eurasian steppes, between the Northern Black Sea region and present-day Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. It seems that it occurred not earlier than the first half and most probably during the middle (even the last third) of the fourth millennium BC (from ∼ 5.5 kya). The next steps of large-scale horse breeding occurred almost simultaneously in Eurasia and North Africa due to the development of the social structure of human communities. On the other hand, the morphological differences between wild and domestic animals are rather vague and the genetic introgression between them is speculative.
In this review, we have tried to gather all available scientific data on the existing possible hypotheses for the earliest domestication of the horse, as well as to highlight some data on the most plausible ones. This is due to the frequency of some significant data on the frequency of strictly defined mitotypes in different historical periods of human civilizations existing in the same periods.
... The question of the diffusion of Indo-European languages has been a hot topic in the last few years 23,52,[73][74][75] . Linguistic analyses point either to Anatolia 74 or the Pontic Steppe 75 as the region where the Indo-European languages originated. ...
Since prehistoric times, South Central Asia has been at the crossroads of the movement of people, culture, and goods. Today, the Central Asia's populations are divided into two cultural and linguistic groups: the Indo-Iranian and the Turko-Mongolian groups. Previous genetic studies unveiled that migrations from East Asia contributed to the spread of Turko-Mongolian populations in Central Asia and the partial replacement of the Indo-Iranian population. However, little is known about the origin of the latter. To shed light on this, we compare the genetic data on two current-day populations - Yaghnobis and Tajiks - with genome-wide data from published ancient individuals. The present Indo-Iranian populations from Central Asia display a strong genetic continuity with Iron Age samples from Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. We model Yaghnobis as a mixture of 93% Iron Age individual from Turkmenistan and 7% from Baikal. For the Tajiks, we observe a higher Baikal ancestry and an additional admixture event with a South Asian population. Our results, therefore, suggest that in addition to a complex history, Central Asia shows a remarkable genetic continuity since the Iron Age, with only limited gene flow.