[ALBSA-Info] COOL_ALBANIAN Heil to the Fathers

[Kreshnik Bejko]

Europe's 10 founding 'fathers'



More than 95% of European men alive today are descended from 10 ancient 
"fathers", according to new genetic evidence.
Scientists believe two of the 10 founding fathers migrated into Europe from 
the Near East before the end of the last ice age, some time between two 
million and 13 thousand years BC.

The other male ancestors, who were probably early farmers, are likely to 
have arrived in Europe in the later part of the Stone Age, between seven 
thousand and three thousand years BC.

The evidence comes from a new study of the male (Y) chromosome, which is 
passed from father to son. Geneticists are able to trace male ancestry back 
through history by studying tiny variations in the genetic sequence of the Y 
chromosome.

An international research team studied genetic information from the Y 
chromosomes of 1,007 men from 25 communities across Europe and the Middle 
East.

DNA clues

An analysis of 22 small genetic markers revealed that nearly all of the men 
could be grouped into 10 different categories, each representing a different 
paternal lineage.

The evidence suggests that nearly all European men living today can trace 
their genetic roots to these ten ancient "fathers".

"Ten lineages account for more than 95% of the 1,007 European Y-chromosomes 
studied," the team write in the journal Science.

"Geographic distribution and age estimates of alleles (alternative forms of 
a gene) are compatible with two Paleolithic and one Neolithic migratory 
episode that have contributed to the modern European gene pool."

Ancient settlers

The scientists, from eight European countries and the US, believe that two 
of the male ancestors arrived in separate waves of migration during the 
Paleolithic period (two million to 13 thousand years BC) from the Middle 
East and Asia.

They probably formed different clans, isolated by glaciers and other 
geographical features until the last ice age ended.

The other eight founding fathers probably arrived in one migration during 
the Neolithic period (seven thousand to three thousand years BC). By this 
time, humans had learned the technology for simple agriculture. This, 
together with the melting of the glaciers, enabled these early farmers to 
spread further afield.

The new data adds to previous evidence that modern European populations 
arose from the merging of local Paleolithic groups and Neolithic farmers 
arriving from the Near East after the invention of agriculture.

Similar studies of mitochondrial DNA, a scrap of genetic material that is 
passed from mother to child, have traced the maternal ancestry of modern 
European women back to seven female founders.




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