Genomic insights into the origin of farming in the ancient Near East

Iosif Lazaridis (), Dani Nadel, Gary Rollefson, Deborah C. Merrett, Nadin Rohland, Swapan Mallick, Daniel Fernandes, Mario Novak, Beatriz Gamarra, Kendra Sirak, Sarah Connell, Kristin Stewardson, Eadaoin Harney, Qiaomei Fu, Gloria Gonzalez-Fortes, Eppie R. Jones, Songül Alpaslan Roodenberg, György Lengyel, Fanny Bocquentin, Boris Gasparian, Janet M. Monge, Michael Gregg, Vered Eshed, Ahuva-Sivan Mizrahi, Christopher Meiklejohn, Fokke Gerritsen, Luminita Bejenaru, Matthias Blüher, Archie Campbell, Gianpiero Cavalleri, David Comas, Philippe Froguel, Edmund Gilbert, Shona M. Kerr, Peter Kovacs, Johannes Krause, Darren McGettigan, Michael Merrigan, D. Andrew Merriwether, Seamus O'Reilly, Martin B. Richards, Ornella Semino, Michel Shamoon-Pour, Gheorghe Stefanescu, Michael Stumvoll, Anke Tönjes, Antonio Torroni, James F. Wilson, Loic Yengo, Nelli A. Hovhannisyan, Nick Patterson, Ron Pinhasi () and David Reich ()
Additional contact information
Iosif Lazaridis: Harvard Medical School
Dani Nadel: The Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa
Gary Rollefson: Whitman College
Deborah C. Merrett: Simon Fraser University
Nadin Rohland: Harvard Medical School
Swapan Mallick: Harvard Medical School
Daniel Fernandes: School of Archaeology and Earth Institute, Belfield, University College Dublin
Mario Novak: School of Archaeology and Earth Institute, Belfield, University College Dublin
Beatriz Gamarra: School of Archaeology and Earth Institute, Belfield, University College Dublin
Kendra Sirak: School of Archaeology and Earth Institute, Belfield, University College Dublin
Sarah Connell: School of Archaeology and Earth Institute, Belfield, University College Dublin
Kristin Stewardson: Harvard Medical School
Eadaoin Harney: Harvard Medical School
Qiaomei Fu: Harvard Medical School
Gloria Gonzalez-Fortes: University of Ferrara
Eppie R. Jones: University of Cambridge
Songül Alpaslan Roodenberg: J.M. van Nassaulaan 9
György Lengyel: University of Miskolc
Fanny Bocquentin: French National Centre for Scientific Research
Boris Gasparian: Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia
Janet M. Monge: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
Michael Gregg: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
Vered Eshed: Israel Antiquities Authority
Ahuva-Sivan Mizrahi: Israel Antiquities Authority
Christopher Meiklejohn: University of Winnipeg
Fokke Gerritsen: Netherlands Institute in Turkey
Luminita Bejenaru: Faculty of Biology, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi
Matthias Blüher: Clinic of Endocrinology and Nephrology
Archie Campbell: Generation Scotland, Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, MRC Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh
Gianpiero Cavalleri: RCSI Molecular & Cellular Therapeutics, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
David Comas: Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (CSIC-UPF), Departament de Ciències Experimentals i de la Salut, Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Philippe Froguel: Univ. Lille, CNRS, Institut Pasteur de Lille
Edmund Gilbert: RCSI Molecular & Cellular Therapeutics, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
Shona M. Kerr: Generation Scotland, Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, MRC Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh
Peter Kovacs: Leipzig University Medical Center, IFB Adiposity Diseases
Johannes Krause: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
Darren McGettigan: School of History, Newman Building, University College Dublin
Michael Merrigan: Genealogical Society of Ireland
D. Andrew Merriwether: Binghamton University, State University of New York
Seamus O'Reilly: Genealogical Society of Ireland
Martin B. Richards: School of Applied Sciences, University of Huddersfield
Ornella Semino: Università di Pavia
Michel Shamoon-Pour: Binghamton University, State University of New York
Gheorghe Stefanescu: Institutul de Cercetari Biologice
Michael Stumvoll: Clinic of Endocrinology and Nephrology
Anke Tönjes: Clinic of Endocrinology and Nephrology
Antonio Torroni: Università di Pavia
James F. Wilson: Usher Institute for Population Health Sciences and Informatics, University of Edinburgh
Loic Yengo: Univ. Lille, CNRS, Institut Pasteur de Lille
Nelli A. Hovhannisyan: Center of Excellence in Applied Biosciences, Yerevan State University
Nick Patterson: Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
Ron Pinhasi: School of Archaeology and Earth Institute, Belfield, University College Dublin
David Reich: Harvard Medical School

Nature, 2016, vol. 536, issue 7617, 419-424

Abstract: Abstract We report genome-wide ancient DNA from 44 ancient Near Easterners ranging in time between ~12,000 and 1,400 bc, from Natufian hunter–gatherers to Bronze Age farmers. We show that the earliest populations of the Near East derived around half their ancestry from a ‘Basal Eurasian’ lineage that had little if any Neanderthal admixture and that separated from other non-African lineages before their separation from each other. The first farmers of the southern Levant (Israel and Jordan) and Zagros Mountains (Iran) were strongly genetically differentiated, and each descended from local hunter–gatherers. By the time of the Bronze Age, these two populations and Anatolian-related farmers had mixed with each other and with the hunter–gatherers of Europe to greatly reduce genetic differentiation. The impact of the Near Eastern farmers extended beyond the Near East: farmers related to those of Anatolia spread westward into Europe; farmers related to those of the Levant spread southward into East Africa; farmers related to those of Iran spread northward into the Eurasian steppe; and people related to both the early farmers of Iran and to the pastoralists of the Eurasian steppe spread eastward into South Asia.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1038/nature19310

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