Ancient genomes suggest the eastern Pontic-Caspian steppe as the source of western Iron Age nomads

2018/10/04 by Maja Krzewińska, Gülşah Merve Kılınç, Anna Juras +17 · 14 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Forensic and Genetic Research #Yersinia bacterium, plague, ectoparasites research #Archaeology and ancient environmental studies #Steppe #Geography #Iron Age #Ancestor #Evolutionary biology #Biology #Archaeology

paper · pdf · doi:10.1126/sciadv.aat4457

openalex publication_date 2018/10/04 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/17

Abstract

For millennia, the Pontic-Caspian steppe was a connector between the Eurasian steppe and Europe. In this scene, multidirectional and sequential movements of different populations may have occurred, including those of the Eurasian steppe nomads. We sequenced 35 genomes (low to medium coverage) of Bronze Age individuals (Srubnaya-Alakulskaya) and Iron Age nomads (Cimmerians, Scythians, and Sarmatians) that represent four distinct cultural entities corresponding to the chronological sequence of cultural complexes in the region. Our results suggest that, despite genetic links among these peoples, no group can be considered a direct ancestor of the subsequent group. The nomadic populations were heterogeneous and carried genetic affinities with populations from several other regions including the Far East and the southern Urals. We found evidence of a stable shared genetic signature, making the eastern Pontic-Caspian steppe a likely source of western nomadic groups.

Citations

• Population genomics of Bronze Age Eurasia
• Ancient genomes link early farmers from Atapuerca in Spain to modern-day Basques
• Massive migration from the steppe is a source for Indo-European languages in Europe
• Ancient human genomes suggest three ancestral populations for present-day Europeans
• Ancient DNA Reveals Prehistoric Gene-Flow from Siberia in the Complex Human Population History of North East Europe
• Ancient DNA provides new insights into the history of south Siberian Kurgan people
• An integrated map of genetic variation from 1,092 human genomes
• Updated comprehensive phylogenetic tree of global human mitochondrial DNA variation
• IntCal13 and Marine13 Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curves 0–50,000 Years cal BP
• High-Resolution SNPs and Microsatellite Haplotypes Point to a Single, Recent Entry of Native American Y Chromosomes into the Americas
• PLINK: A Tool Set for Whole-Genome Association and Population-Based Linkage Analyses
• Bayesian Analysis of Radiocarbon Dates
• Population genomics of Mesolithic Scandinavia: Investigating early postglacial migration routes and high-latitude adaptation

Cited by

• Dual origins of the Northwest Chinese Kyrgyz: the admixture of Bronze age Siberian and Medieval Niru’un Mongolian Y chromosomes
• Shifts in the Genetic Landscape of the Western Eurasian Steppe Associated with the Beginning and End of the Scythian Dominance
• A genetic probe into the ancient and medieval history of Southern Europe and West Asia
• Ancient genomic time transect from the Central Asian Steppe unravels the history of the Scythians
• Cosmopolitanism at the Roman Danubian Frontier, Slavic Migrations, and the Genomic Formation of Modern Balkan Peoples
• Genetic ancestry changes in Stone to Bronze Age transition in the East European plain
• Isotopic evidence of millet consumption in the Middle Bronze Age of East-Central Europe
• Early nomads of the Eastern Steppe and their tentative connections in the West
• Mitochondrial genomes from Bronze Age Poland reveal genetic continuity from the Late Neolithic and additional genetic affinities with the steppe populations
• Cimmerians [wikipedia]
• History of Central Asia [wikipedia]
• Poltavka culture [wikipedia]
• Sarmatians [wikipedia]
• Srubnaya culture [wikipedia]

Related

• Ancient genomic time transect from the Central Asian Steppe unravels the history of the Scythians
• Ancient human genome-wide data from a 3000-year interval in the Caucasus corresponds with eco-geographic regions
• Genetic ancestry changes in Stone to Bronze Age transition in the East European plain
• Tracing the Origin of the East-West Population Admixture in the Altai Region (Central Asia)
• The genetic prehistory of the Greater Caucasus