Massive migration from the steppe was a source for Indo-European languages in Europe

doi:10.1038/nature14317

. 2015 Jun 11;522(7555):207-11.

doi: 10.1038/nature14317. Epub 2015 Mar 2.

Massive migration from the steppe was a source for Indo-European languages in Europe

Wolfgang Haak¹, Iosif Lazaridis², Nick Patterson³, Nadin Rohland², Swapan Mallick⁴, Bastien Llamas¹, Guido Brandt⁵, Susanne Nordenfelt², Eadaoin Harney⁴, Kristin Stewardson⁴, Qiaomei Fu⁶, Alissa Mittnik⁷, Eszter Bánffy⁸, Christos Economou⁹, Michael Francken¹⁰, Susanne Friederich¹¹, Rafael Garrido Pena¹², Fredrik Hallgren¹³, Valery Khartanovich¹⁴, Aleksandr Khokhlov¹⁵, Michael Kunst¹⁶, Pavel Kuznetsov¹⁵, Harald Meller¹¹, Oleg Mochalov¹⁵, Vayacheslav Moiseyev¹⁴, Nicole Nicklisch¹⁷, Sandra L Pichler¹⁸, Roberto Risch¹⁹, Manuel A Rojo Guerra²⁰, Christina Roth⁵, Anna Szécsényi-Nagy²¹, Joachim Wahl²², Matthias Meyer²³, Johannes Krause²⁴, Dorcas Brown²⁵, David Anthony²⁵, Alan Cooper¹, Kurt Werner Alt²⁶, David Reich⁴

Affiliations

¹ Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences &Environment Institute, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia.
² 1] Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA [2] Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA.
³ Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA.
⁴ 1] Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA [2] Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA [3] Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
⁵ Institute of Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, D-55128 Mainz, Germany.
⁶ 1] Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA [2] Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA [3] Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany [4] Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, IVPP, CAS, Beijing 100049, China.
⁷ Institute for Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, D-72070 Tübingen, Germany.
⁸ 1] Institute of Archaeology, Research Centre for the Humanities, Hungarian Academy of Science, H-1014 Budapest, Hungary [2] Römisch Germanische Kommission (RGK) Frankfurt, D-60325 Frankfurt, Germany.
⁹ Archaeological Research Laboratory, Stockholm University, 114 18 Stockholm, Sweden.
¹⁰ Departments of Paleoanthropology and Archaeogenetics, Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment, University of Tübingen, D-72070 Tübingen, Germany.
¹¹ State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt and State Museum of Prehistory, D-06114 Halle, Germany.
¹² Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, Spain.
¹³ The Cultural Heritage Foundation, Västerås 722 12, Sweden.
¹⁴ Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) RAS, St Petersburg 199034, Russia.
¹⁵ Volga State Academy of Social Sciences and Humanities, Samara 443099, Russia.
¹⁶ Deutsches Archaeologisches Institut, Abteilung Madrid, E-28002 Madrid, Spain.
¹⁷ 1] Institute of Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, D-55128 Mainz, Germany [2] State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt and State Museum of Prehistory, D-06114 Halle, Germany [3] Danube Private University, A-3500 Krems, Austria.
¹⁸ Institute for Prehistory and Archaeological Science, University of Basel, CH-4003 Basel, Switzerland.
¹⁹ Departamento de Prehistòria, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, E-08193 Barcelona, Spain.
²⁰ Departamento de Prehistòria y Arqueolgia, Universidad de Valladolid, E-47002 Valladolid, Spain.
²¹ 1] Institute of Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, D-55128 Mainz, Germany [2] Institute of Archaeology, Research Centre for the Humanities, Hungarian Academy of Science, H-1014 Budapest, Hungary.
²² State Office for Cultural Heritage Management Baden-Württemberg, Osteology, D-78467 Konstanz, Germany.
²³ Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany.
²⁴ 1] Institute for Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, D-72070 Tübingen, Germany [2] Departments of Paleoanthropology and Archaeogenetics, Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment, University of Tübingen, D-72070 Tübingen, Germany [3] Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, D-07745 Jena, Germany.
²⁵ Anthropology Department, Hartwick College, Oneonta, New York 13820, USA.
²⁶ 1] Institute of Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, D-55128 Mainz, Germany [2] State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt and State Museum of Prehistory, D-06114 Halle, Germany [3] Danube Private University, A-3500 Krems, Austria [4] Institute for Prehistory and Archaeological Science, University of Basel, CH-4003 Basel, Switzerland.

PMID: 25731166
PMCID: PMC5048219
DOI: 10.1038/nature14317

Massive migration from the steppe was a source for Indo-European languages in Europe

Wolfgang Haak et al. Nature. 2015.

. 2015 Jun 11;522(7555):207-11.

doi: 10.1038/nature14317. Epub 2015 Mar 2.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences &Environment Institute, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia.
² 1] Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA [2] Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA.
³ Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA.
⁴ 1] Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA [2] Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA [3] Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
⁵ Institute of Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, D-55128 Mainz, Germany.
⁶ 1] Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA [2] Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA [3] Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany [4] Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, IVPP, CAS, Beijing 100049, China.
⁷ Institute for Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, D-72070 Tübingen, Germany.
⁸ 1] Institute of Archaeology, Research Centre for the Humanities, Hungarian Academy of Science, H-1014 Budapest, Hungary [2] Römisch Germanische Kommission (RGK) Frankfurt, D-60325 Frankfurt, Germany.
⁹ Archaeological Research Laboratory, Stockholm University, 114 18 Stockholm, Sweden.
¹⁰ Departments of Paleoanthropology and Archaeogenetics, Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment, University of Tübingen, D-72070 Tübingen, Germany.
¹¹ State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt and State Museum of Prehistory, D-06114 Halle, Germany.
¹² Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, Spain.
¹³ The Cultural Heritage Foundation, Västerås 722 12, Sweden.
¹⁴ Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) RAS, St Petersburg 199034, Russia.
¹⁵ Volga State Academy of Social Sciences and Humanities, Samara 443099, Russia.
¹⁶ Deutsches Archaeologisches Institut, Abteilung Madrid, E-28002 Madrid, Spain.
¹⁷ 1] Institute of Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, D-55128 Mainz, Germany [2] State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt and State Museum of Prehistory, D-06114 Halle, Germany [3] Danube Private University, A-3500 Krems, Austria.
¹⁸ Institute for Prehistory and Archaeological Science, University of Basel, CH-4003 Basel, Switzerland.
¹⁹ Departamento de Prehistòria, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, E-08193 Barcelona, Spain.
²⁰ Departamento de Prehistòria y Arqueolgia, Universidad de Valladolid, E-47002 Valladolid, Spain.
²¹ 1] Institute of Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, D-55128 Mainz, Germany [2] Institute of Archaeology, Research Centre for the Humanities, Hungarian Academy of Science, H-1014 Budapest, Hungary.
²² State Office for Cultural Heritage Management Baden-Württemberg, Osteology, D-78467 Konstanz, Germany.
²³ Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany.
²⁴ 1] Institute for Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, D-72070 Tübingen, Germany [2] Departments of Paleoanthropology and Archaeogenetics, Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment, University of Tübingen, D-72070 Tübingen, Germany [3] Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, D-07745 Jena, Germany.
²⁵ Anthropology Department, Hartwick College, Oneonta, New York 13820, USA.
²⁶ 1] Institute of Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, D-55128 Mainz, Germany [2] State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt and State Museum of Prehistory, D-06114 Halle, Germany [3] Danube Private University, A-3500 Krems, Austria [4] Institute for Prehistory and Archaeological Science, University of Basel, CH-4003 Basel, Switzerland.

PMID: 25731166
PMCID: PMC5048219
DOI: 10.1038/nature14317

Abstract

We generated genome-wide data from 69 Europeans who lived between 8,000-3,000 years ago by enriching ancient DNA libraries for a target set of almost 400,000 polymorphisms. Enrichment of these positions decreases the sequencing required for genome-wide ancient DNA analysis by a median of around 250-fold, allowing us to study an order of magnitude more individuals than previous studies and to obtain new insights about the past. We show that the populations of Western and Far Eastern Europe followed opposite trajectories between 8,000-5,000 years ago. At the beginning of the Neolithic period in Europe, ∼8,000-7,000 years ago, closely related groups of early farmers appeared in Germany, Hungary and Spain, different from indigenous hunter-gatherers, whereas Russia was inhabited by a distinctive population of hunter-gatherers with high affinity to a ∼24,000-year-old Siberian. By ∼6,000-5,000 years ago, farmers throughout much of Europe had more hunter-gatherer ancestry than their predecessors, but in Russia, the Yamnaya steppe herders of this time were descended not only from the preceding eastern European hunter-gatherers, but also from a population of Near Eastern ancestry. Western and Eastern Europe came into contact ∼4,500 years ago, as the Late Neolithic Corded Ware people from Germany traced ∼75% of their ancestry to the Yamnaya, documenting a massive migration into the heartland of Europe from its eastern periphery. This steppe ancestry persisted in all sampled central Europeans until at least ∼3,000 years ago, and is ubiquitous in present-day Europeans. These results provide support for a steppe origin of at least some of the Indo-European languages of Europe.

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Figures

**Extended Data Figure 1**
Outgroup f₃ statistic f₃(Dinka; X, Y), measuring the degree of shared drift among pairs of ancient individuals.

**Extended Data Figure 2**
Modelling Corded Ware as a mixture of N=1, 2, or 3 ancestral populations. (a) The left column shows a histogram of raw f₄ statistic residuals and on the right Z-scores for the best-fitting (lowest squared 2-norm of the residuals, or resnorm) model at each N. (b), The data on the left show resnorm and on the right show the maximum |Z| score change for different N. (c) resnorm of different N=2 models. The set of outgroups used in this analysis in the terminology of Supplementary Information section 9 is ‘World Foci 15 + Ancients’.

Extended Data Figure 3. Modeling Europeans as mixtures of increasing complexity: N=1 (EN), N=2 (EN, WHG), N=3 (EN, WHG, Yamnaya), N=4 (EN, WHG, Yamnaya, Nganasan), N=5 (EN, WHG, Yamnaya, Nganasan, BedouinB)
The residual norm of the fitted model (Supplementary Information section 9) and its changes are indicated.

Extended Data Figure 4. Geographic distribution of archaeological cultures and graphic illustration of proposed population movements / turnovers discussed in the main text (symbols of samples are identical to Figure 1)
(a) proposed routes of migration by early farmers into Europe ∼9,000-7000 years ago, (b) resurgence of hunter-gatherer ancestry during the Middle Neolithic 7,000-5,000 years ago, (c) arrival of steppe ancestry in central Europe during the Late Neolithic ∼4,500 years ago. White arrows indicate the two possible scenarios of the arrival of Indo-European language groups.

**Figure 1. Location and SNP coverage of samples included in this study**
(a) Geographic location and time-scale (central European chronology) of the 69 newly typed ancient individuals from this study (black outline) and 25 from the literature for which shotgun sequencing data was available (no outline). (b) Number of SNPs covered at least once in the analysis dataset of 94 individuals.

**Figure 2. Population transformations in Europe**
(a) PCA analysis, (b) ADMIXTURE analysis. The full ADMIXTURE analysis including present-day humans is shown in Supplementary Information section 6.

**Figure 3. Admixture proportions**
We estimate mixture proportions using a method that gives unbiased estimates even without an accurate model for the relationships between the test populations and the outgroup populations (Supplementary Information section 9). Population samples are grouped according to chronology (ancient) and Yamnaya ancestry (present-day humans).

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Comment in

Human evolution: ancient DNA steps into the language debate.
Novembre J. Novembre J. Nature. 2015 Jun 11;522(7555):164-5. doi: 10.1038/522164a. Nature. 2015. PMID: 26062506 No abstract available.

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References

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[1] Fu Q, et al. Genome sequence of a 45,000-year-old modern human from western Siberia. Nature. 2014;514:445–449. - PMC - PubMed

[2] Fu Q, et al. Genome sequence of a 45,000-year-old modern human from western Siberia. Nature. 2014;514:445–449. - PMC - PubMed

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[9] Olalde I, et al. Derived immune and ancestral pigmentation alleles in a 7,000-year-old Mesolithic European. Nature. 2014;507:225–228. - PMC - PubMed

[10] Olalde I, et al. Derived immune and ancestral pigmentation alleles in a 7,000-year-old Mesolithic European. Nature. 2014;507:225–228. - PMC - PubMed

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Massive migration from the steppe was a source for Indo-European languages in Europe

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Massive migration from the steppe was a source for Indo-European languages in Europe

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