RESEARCHERS have found early farming practices can be traced to two different population groups.
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A study of 44 ancient human DNA samples found the first farmers in Israel and Jordan were genetically different from those in Iran, indicating they began practicing agriculture independently.
The findings offer insights into the populations that developed farming and how it spread to Europe, Asia, and beyond.
Humans are known to have transitioned from being hunter–gatherers to farmers between 10,000 to 9000 BC in the Near East, but it has been unclear whether farming spread from a single population or multiple groups.
Distinct populations of early farmers are described by David Reich and colleagues, who analysed the genetic makeup of 44 individuals that lived between 12,000–1,400 BC from Near East regions (including present-day Iran, Armenia, Turkey, Israel and Jordan).
Independent farming populations in the southern Levant region of Israel and Jordan and in Iran descended from local hunter–gatherers, but went on to mix with each other and with those from Europe by the time of the Bronze Age.
Farmers related to those from the southern Levant spread south towards East Africa, whereas Iranian farmers moved north into the Eurasian steppe; the region encompassing Eastern Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Understanding of the population structure of these early farmers has been hampered by difficulties in obtaining preserved DNA from human remains in this region, as the hot climate causes samples to degrade.
Improvements in DNA retrieval and analysis helped the authors to gain insights into the demographics of these populations.
- Details: Read more about the study at nature.com/articles/doi:10.1038/nature19310