Europeans' extinct 4,000 years ago?

Recent research reveals an impressive series of events, including signs of unexplained genetic changes that took place 4,000-5,000 years ago in Europe.

Australian scientists have recently analyzed some of the excavated skeletons in Germany and discovered that the European gene structure has mysteriously changed around 4000-5000 years ago. The date of these skeletons is up to 7,500 years.

The international team also includes Mainz University in Germany and the National Geographic Society's Genographic project. It is known that this group belongs to a research project on anthropology and genetics for many years to draw a map of human migration through collecting and analyzing DNA of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide.

Scientists believe that the rapid expansion of civilization Beaker Bell can hold the answer to this problem. (It is said that civilization Beaker Bell built Stonehenge monoliths in Wiltshire, England.)

Alan Cooper of the University of Adelaide, Australia, the co-author of the study, said: "It is interesting that the genetic structure of the first European civilization suddenly replaced about 4,500 years ago and we do not know why.Our job is to find out what happened.

Famous work Stonehenge belongs to Wiltshire county, England. (Photo: Dailymail)

The researchers used DNA extracted from bones and teeth from prehistoric skeletons to arrange a group of genetic lines according to the mother.

Dr. Wolfgang Haak of ACAD, the lead author of the study, said: "This is the first genetic record of these lines with high accuracy. We can directly observe the evolution of DNA. People in "real time" and dramatic population change took place in Europe, we can follow more than 4000 years of prehistory, from the first farmers through the Bronze Age soon to modern times ".

Dr. Paul Brotherton of Huddersfield University, UK, co-author, who worked at ACAD, said: "The records of the hereditary group, called Haplogroup H , show the first farmers. in Central Europe is the result of an emigration, coming from Turkey and the Near East (the cradle of agriculture) to Germany about 7,500 years ago. "

The team achieved a new step in molecular biology to arrange mitochondrial genes from the ancient bones. This is the first ancient population study to use a large number of mitochondrial genes.

Dr. Haak said: "We have verified that the genetic bases of modern Europe were only formed during the Middle Stone Age, after this profound genetic transformation process of about 4,000 years. Diversity This genetics was later further altered by a series of visits and expansions of civilizations from Iberia and Eastern Europe during the Late Stone Age. '

Meanwhile, Dr Brotherton said: "The expansion of the Bell Beaker civilization (named after the bell-shaped cup of that era to distinguish) seems to be an important event, emerging in Iberia. about 2800 BC and coming to Germany a few centuries later, this is a very interesting group: They are related to the expansion of Celtic language along the Atlantic and central European coasts. "

According to Professor Cooper: "The ancient genomes give us a unique opportunity to capture European demographic history. We can not only estimate population size, but also determine the exact speed. evolution at stages, providing a more accurate time scale of important events in human evolution ".

Professor Kurt Alt of the University of Mainz, state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, said: "This study shows the power of combining archeology and ancient DNA to reconstruct the evolutionary history of human beings over time. space ".

The research is published in Nature Communications.