Publications by authors named "C Gaunitz"
The Indo-European languages are among the most widely spoken in the world, yet their early diversification remains contentious. It is widely accepted that the spread of this language family across Europe from the 5th millennium BP correlates with the expansion and diversification of steppe-related genetic ancestry from the onset of the Bronze Age. However, multiple steppe-derived populations co-existed in Europe during this period, and it remains unclear how these populations diverged and which provided the demographic channels for the ancestral forms of the Italic, Celtic, Greek, and Armenian languages.
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- During 5,300 to 4,900 cal BP, much of Europe experienced a population decline known as the Neolithic decline, with debated causes including agricultural crisis and early plague spread.
- Researchers analyzed ancient genomes from 108 Scandinavian Neolithic individuals and found evidence of widespread plague infections in at least 17% of the population, occurring through three distinct events over roughly 120 years.
- The study also reconstructed family lineages indicating a patrilineal social structure and noted examples of female exogamy, contributing to a clearer understanding of the social dynamics and disease impact during this period.
Article Synopsis
- - Horses transformed human mobility, but the timeline of their domestication and integration as transport is debated, with new genetic data being used to clarify this history.
- - Analysis of 475 ancient horse genomes indicates that modern domestic horses were shaped by human intervention around 2200 BCE, after a domestication bottleneck began around 2700 BCE, leading to a significant expansion across Eurasia.
- - Evidence also suggests that there was early horse husbandry in central Asia at Botai around 3500 BCE, prior to the establishment of contemporary horse bloodlines, challenging the notion of large herds being linked to migrations around 3000 BCE.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neuro-inflammatory and neurodegenerative disease that is most prevalent in Northern Europe. Although it is known that inherited risk for MS is located within or in close proximity to immune-related genes, it is unknown when, where and how this genetic risk originated. Here, by using a large ancient genome dataset from the Mesolithic period to the Bronze Age, along with new Medieval and post-Medieval genomes, we show that the genetic risk for MS rose among pastoralists from the Pontic steppe and was brought into Europe by the Yamnaya-related migration approximately 5,000 years ago.
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