Ancestry and demography and descendants of Iron Age nomads of the Eurasian Steppe

Citations Over TimeTop 10% of 2017 papers

Abstract

During the 1st millennium before the Common Era (BCE), nomadic tribes associated with the Iron Age Scythian culture spread over the Eurasian Steppe, covering a territory of more than 3,500 km in breadth. To understand the demographic processes behind the spread of the Scythian culture, we analysed genomic data from eight individuals and a mitochondrial dataset of 96 individuals originating in eastern and western parts of the Eurasian Steppe. Genomic inference reveals that Scythians in the east and the west of the steppe zone can best be described as a mixture of Yamnaya-related ancestry and an East Asian component. Demographic modelling suggests independent origins for eastern and western groups with ongoing gene-flow between them, plausibly explaining the striking uniformity of their material culture. We also find evidence that significant gene-flow from east to west Eurasia must have occurred early during the Iron Age.

Related Papers

• → The rise and transformation of Bronze Age pastoralists in the Caucasus(2024)11 cited
• → Regional Patterns and the Cultural Implications of Late Bronze Age and Iron Age Burial Practices in Britain(2016)5 cited
• → FIRST OBSERVATIONS ON THE TRANSITION FROM THE LATE BRONZE AGE TO THE EARLY IRON AGE IN TISNA, WESTERN ANATOLIA(2021)3 cited
• → Asia, Steppe, East: Bronze and Iron Age(2023)
• → Neolithic Pits, Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age Pit Alignments and Iron Age to Roman Settlements at Wollaston Quarry, Northamptonshire(2024)