DNA from skeletons of Europe’s first farmers yielded surprise: There were three, major migrations in prehistoric Europe – one 4,500 years ago from the steppes.

A study of ancient skeletons as old as 8,000 years reveals a previously unknown, but massive migration of prehistoric people from eastern Russia to Europe and shed light on the spread of the Indo-European mother language in the continent. The study was a collaborative effort between the University of Adelaide and Harvard Medical School in Boston.

Historical linguists have long known that hundreds of languages, ranging from English and Spanish to Russian and Hindi, belong to the same family tree (see below). How that came about has not been clear.

Now the skeletal evidence reveals that at least some Indo-European languages spoken in Europe likely resulted from massive migration from eastern Russia around 4,500 years ago, says Dr Wolfgang Haak of the University of Adelaide’s Australian Centre for Ancient DNA (ACAD), the first co-author of the study published today in the journal Nature.

“This new study is the biggest of its kind so far and has helped to improve our understanding of the linguistic impact of Stone Age migration,” Dr Haak said. More.

See: Haaretz

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