The Bronze Age of Eurasia (around 3000-1000 BC) was a period of major cultural changes. However, there is debate about whether these changes resulted from the circulation of ideas or from human migrations, potentially also facilitating the spread of languages and certain phenotypic traits. We investigated this by using new, improved methods to sequence low-coverage genomes from 101 ancient humans from across Eurasia. We show that the Bronze Age was a highly dynamic period involving large-scale population migrations and replacements, responsible for shaping major parts of present-day demographic structure in both Europe and Asia. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesized spread of Indo-European languages during the Early Bronze Age. We also demonstrate that light skin pigmentation in Europeans was already present at high frequency in the Bronze Age, but not lactose tolerance, indicating a more recent onset of positive selection on lactose tolerance than previously thought.

• MeSH
• archeologie metody   MeSH
• Asijci genetika   MeSH
• běloši genetika   MeSH
• dějiny starověku MeSH
• DNA genetika   izolace a purifikace   MeSH
• frekvence genu genetika   MeSH
• genom lidský genetika   MeSH
• genomika * MeSH
• jazyk (prostředek komunikace) dějiny   MeSH
• jednonukleotidový polymorfismus genetika   MeSH
• kulturní evoluce dějiny   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• migrace lidstva dějiny   MeSH
• nesnášenlivost laktózy genetika   MeSH
• pigmentace kůže genetika   MeSH
• populační genetika MeSH
• zkameněliny * MeSH
• Check Tag
• dějiny starověku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• historické články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Asie etnologie   MeSH
• Evropa etnologie   MeSH
• Názvy látek
• DNA MeSH