Topix Underground

"...However, it seems what goes around comes around. Some 1,000 years later, around 4,850 years ago, these farming communities suffered a similar fate, with the arrival of a 'big-boned' semi-nomadic group with origins tied to the livestock-herding Yamnaya of southern Russia. Again, DNA evidence suggests violent battles and the introduction of new pathogens caused another swift genetic shakeup.

The newest arrivals, who tamed animals, kept cattle and traversed the land via horse and cart, would prevail in the region; after this tumultuous period, the area was settled by a population tied to the Yamnaya and Eastern European Neolithic peoples. The genetic profile of these settlers remains dominant in Denmark today, with no trace of the first farmers, or the hunter-gatherers before them, at all.

With the rapid rate of distinctive DNA turnover and the a lack of mingling genetics, all signs point to overpowering conflicts that completely anihilated existing communities. Turning previous theories upside down, the researchers add that this new information also sheds light on migration and the movement of pathogens. Scientists have high hopes that advances in the sequencing of ancient DNA (aDNA) will soon lead to a better understanding and treatment of present-day disease..."