Author
Dorcas Brown
Bio: Dorcas Brown is an academic researcher from Hartwick College. The author has contributed to research in topics: Population & Horseback riding. The author has an hindex of 13, co-authored 20 publications receiving 2665 citations.
Topics: Population, Horseback riding, Bronze Age, Domestication, Ancient DNA
Papers
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University of Adelaide1, Harvard University2, Broad Institute3, Howard Hughes Medical Institute4, University of Mainz5, Max Planck Society6, University of Tübingen7, Hungarian Academy of Sciences8, Stockholm University9, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras10, The Heritage Foundation11, University of Basel12, Autonomous University of Barcelona13, University of Valladolid14, Hartwick College15
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors generated genome-wide data from 69 Europeans who lived between 8,000-3,000 years ago by enriching ancient DNA libraries for a target set of almost 400,000 polymorphisms.
Abstract: We generated genome-wide data from 69 Europeans who lived between 8,000-3,000 years ago by enriching ancient DNA libraries for a target set of almost 400,000 polymorphisms. Enrichment of these positions decreases the sequencing required for genome-wide ancient DNA analysis by a median of around 250-fold, allowing us to study an order of magnitude more individuals than previous studies and to obtain new insights about the past. We show that the populations of Western and Far Eastern Europe followed opposite trajectories between 8,000-5,000 years ago. At the beginning of the Neolithic period in Europe, ∼8,000-7,000 years ago, closely related groups of early farmers appeared in Germany, Hungary and Spain, different from indigenous hunter-gatherers, whereas Russia was inhabited by a distinctive population of hunter-gatherers with high affinity to a ∼24,000-year-old Siberian. By ∼6,000-5,000 years ago, farmers throughout much of Europe had more hunter-gatherer ancestry than their predecessors, but in Russia, the Yamnaya steppe herders of this time were descended not only from the preceding eastern European hunter-gatherers, but also from a population of Near Eastern ancestry. Western and Eastern Europe came into contact ∼4,500 years ago, as the Late Neolithic Corded Ware people from Germany traced ∼75% of their ancestry to the Yamnaya, documenting a massive migration into the heartland of Europe from its eastern periphery. This steppe ancestry persisted in all sampled central Europeans until at least ∼3,000 years ago, and is ubiquitous in present-day Europeans. These results provide support for a steppe origin of at least some of the Indo-European languages of Europe.
1,332 citations
Harvard University1, Broad Institute2, Howard Hughes Medical Institute3, University College Dublin4, Emory University5, University of Copenhagen6, Trinity College, Dublin7, University of Adelaide8, Russian Academy of Sciences9, Complutense University of Madrid10, Rovira i Virgili University11, University of Valladolid12, Max Planck Society13, University of Tübingen14, University of Basel15, Danube Private University16, Hartwick College17, Pompeu Fabra University18
TL;DR: A genome-wide scan for selection using ancient DNA is reported, capitalizing on the largest ancient DNA data set yet assembled: 230 West Eurasians who lived between 6500 and 300 bc, including 163 with newly reported data.
Abstract: Ancient DNA makes it possible to observe natural selection directly by analysing samples from populations before, during and after adaptation events. Here we report a genome-wide scan for selection using ancient DNA, capitalizing on the largest ancient DNA data set yet assembled: 230 West Eurasians who lived between 6500 and 300 bc, including 163 with newly reported data. The new samples include, to our knowledge, the first genome-wide ancient DNA from Anatolian Neolithic farmers, whose genetic material we obtained by extracting from petrous bones, and who we show were members of the population that was the source of Europe's first farmers. We also report a transect of the steppe region in Samara between 5600 and 300 bc, which allows us to identify admixture into the steppe from at least two external sources. We detect selection at loci associated with diet, pigmentation and immunity, and two independent episodes of selection on height.
1,083 citations
American Museum of Natural History1, Paul Sabatier University2, University of Copenhagen3, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan4, University of Exeter5, University of Cambridge6, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna7, Centre national de la recherche scientifique8, Max Planck Society9, University of Tehran10, Tarbiat Modares University11, King Saud University12, Deutsches Archäologisches Institut13, University of Kansas14, Hartwick College15, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich16, Russian Academy of Sciences17, University of Potsdam18, Tallinn University19, Istanbul University20, National University of Mongolia21, Leibniz Association22, Al-Farabi University23, Wellcome Trust24
TL;DR: Data indicate that Przewalski’s horses are the feral descendants of horses herded at Botai and not truly wild horses, which indicates that a massive genomic turnover underpins the expansion of the horse stock that gave rise to modern domesticates, which coincides with large-scale human population expansions during the Early Bronze Age.
Abstract: The Eneolithic Botai culture of the Central Asian steppes provides the earliest archaeological evidence for horse husbandry, ~5500 years ago, but the exact nature of early horse domestication remains controversial. We generated 42 ancient-horse genomes, including 20 from Botai. Compared to 46 published ancient- and modern-horse genomes, our data indicate that Przewalski's horses are the feral descendants of horses herded at Botai and not truly wild horses. All domestic horses dated from ~4000 years ago to present only show ~2.7% of Botai-related ancestry. This indicates that a massive genomic turnover underpins the expansion of the horse stock that gave rise to modern domesticates, which coincides with large-scale human population expansions during the Early Bronze Age.
209 citations
University of Copenhagen1, Paul Sabatier University2, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan3, University of Cambridge4, Stanford University5, King Saud University6, University of Barcelona7, Hartwick College8, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research9, Deutsches Archäologisches Institut10, Autonomous University of Madrid11, University of Oslo12, National University of Mongolia13, University of Vienna14, University of Mainz15, Tarbiat Modares University16, Spanish National Research Council17, University of Lisbon18, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich19, University of Tehran20, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras21, Pablo de Olavide University22, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences23, Agricultural University of Iceland24, University of Potsdam25, Russian Academy of Sciences26, University of Gothenburg27, Pompeu Fabra University28, Samara State University29, Tallinn University30, Humboldt University of Berlin31, Leibniz Association32, ISCTE – University Institute of Lisbon33, University of Oxford34, Centre national de la recherche scientifique35, Istanbul University36, Tbilisi State University37, University of Bordeaux38, Indian Council of Agricultural Research39, University of Edinburgh40, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg41, University of California, Santa Cruz42, University of Kashan43, University of California, Irvine44, University of Exeter45, University of Nottingham46, Max Planck Society47, University of Zagreb48, Karagandy State University49, University of Southampton50, Al-Farabi University51, deCODE genetics52, Université Paris-Saclay53
TL;DR: This extensive dataset allows us to assess the modern legacy of past equestrian civilizations and finds that two extinct horse lineages existed during early domestication, and the development of modern breeding impacted genetic diversity more dramatically than the previous millennia of human management.
174 citations
Francis Crick Institute1, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich2, Queen Mary University of London3, University of Porto4, University College Dublin5, Swedish Museum of Natural History6, University of Liverpool7, University of Oxford8, Liverpool John Moores University9, University of Aberdeen10, National Museum of Natural History11, Stockholm University12, University of Gothenburg13, Harvard University14, Hartwick College15, Russian Academy of Sciences16, University of Tehran17, University of Haifa18, Irkutsk State University19, University of Belgrade20, North-Eastern Federal University21, Sapienza University of Rome22, Baylor University23, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences24, University of Copenhagen25, Lundbeck26, Leiden University27, Hebrew University of Jerusalem28, Tomsk State University29, University of Alberta30, Centre national de la recherche scientifique31, Istanbul University32, University of York33, University College London34, Durham University35, Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports36, University of Thessaly37, University of the Basque Country38, Pennsylvania State University39, Texas A&M University40, University of Vienna41
TL;DR: It is found that all dogs share a common ancestry distinct from present-day wolves, with limited gene flow from wolves since domestication but substantial dog-to-wolf gene flow.
Abstract: Dogs were the first domestic animal, but little is known about their population history and to what extent it was linked to humans. We sequenced 27 ancient dog genomes and found that all dogs share a common ancestry distinct from present-day wolves, with limited gene flow from wolves since domestication but substantial dog-to-wolf gene flow. By 11,000 years ago, at least five major ancestry lineages had diversified, demonstrating a deep genetic history of dogs during the Paleolithic. Coanalysis with human genomes reveals aspects of dog population history that mirror humans, including Levant-related ancestry in Africa and early agricultural Europe. Other aspects differ, including the impacts of steppe pastoralist expansions in West and East Eurasia and a near-complete turnover of Neolithic European dog ancestry.
116 citations
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01 Jan 2010
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors show that hundreds of genetic variants, in at least 180 loci, influence adult height, a highly heritable and classic polygenic trait, revealing patterns with important implications for genetic studies of common human diseases and traits.
Abstract: Most common human traits and diseases have a polygenic pattern of inheritance: DNA sequence variants at many genetic loci influence the phenotype. Genome-wide association (GWA) studies have identified more than 600 variants associated with human traits, but these typically explain small fractions of phenotypic variation, raising questions about the use of further studies. Here, using 183,727 individuals, we show that hundreds of genetic variants, in at least 180 loci, influence adult height, a highly heritable and classic polygenic trait. The large number of loci reveals patterns with important implications for genetic studies of common human diseases and traits. First, the 180 loci are not random, but instead are enriched for genes that are connected in biological pathways (P = 0.016) and that underlie skeletal growth defects (P < 0.001). Second, the likely causal gene is often located near the most strongly associated variant: in 13 of 21 loci containing a known skeletal growth gene, that gene was closest to the associated variant. Third, at least 19 loci have multiple independently associated variants, suggesting that allelic heterogeneity is a frequent feature of polygenic traits, that comprehensive explorations of already-discovered loci should discover additional variants and that an appreciable fraction of associated loci may have been identified. Fourth, associated variants are enriched for likely functional effects on genes, being over-represented among variants that alter amino-acid structure of proteins and expression levels of nearby genes. Our data explain approximately 10% of the phenotypic variation in height, and we estimate that unidentified common variants of similar effect sizes would increase this figure to approximately 16% of phenotypic variation (approximately 20% of heritable variation). Although additional approaches are needed to dissect the genetic architecture of polygenic human traits fully, our findings indicate that GWA studies can identify large numbers of loci that implicate biologically relevant genes and pathways.
1,751 citations
TL;DR: Some of the key events in the peopling of the world in the light of the findings of work on ancient DNA are reviewed.
Abstract: Ancient DNA research is revealing a human history far more complex than that inferred from parsimonious models based on modern DNA. Here, we review some of the key events in the peopling of the world in the light of the findings of work on ancient DNA.
1,365 citations
University of Copenhagen1, University of Gothenburg2, Technical University of Denmark3, Leiden University4, Lund University5, University of Oxford6, University of Wrocław7, University of Zurich8, Wrocław Medical University9, University of Toronto10, Gorno-Altaisk State University11, South Ural State University12, Polish Academy of Sciences13, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich14, Eötvös Loránd University15, Hungarian Natural History Museum16, Hungarian Academy of Sciences17, Masaryk University18, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic19, University of Tartu20, Yerevan State University21, University of Szeged22, Hungarian National Museum23, University of Wisconsin-Madison24, Russian Academy of Sciences25, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague26, Armenian National Academy of Sciences27, Moscow State University28, University of California, Berkeley29
TL;DR: It is shown that the Bronze Age was a highly dynamic period involving large-scale population migrations and replacements, responsible for shaping major parts of present-day demographic structure in both Europe and Asia.
Abstract: The Bronze Age of Eurasia (around 3000-1000 BC) was a period of major cultural changes. However, there is debate about whether these changes resulted from the circulation of ideas or from human migrations, potentially also facilitating the spread of languages and certain phenotypic traits. We investigated this by using new, improved methods to sequence low-coverage genomes from 101 ancient humans from across Eurasia. We show that the Bronze Age was a highly dynamic period involving large-scale population migrations and replacements, responsible for shaping major parts of present-day demographic structure in both Europe and Asia. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesized spread of Indo-European languages during the Early Bronze Age. We also demonstrate that light skin pigmentation in Europeans was already present at high frequency in the Bronze Age, but not lactose tolerance, indicating a more recent onset of positive selection on lactose tolerance than previously thought.
1,088 citations
Harvard University1, Broad Institute2, Howard Hughes Medical Institute3, University College Dublin4, Emory University5, Trinity College, Dublin6, University of Copenhagen7, University of Adelaide8, Russian Academy of Sciences9, Complutense University of Madrid10, Rovira i Virgili University11, University of Valladolid12, University of Tübingen13, Max Planck Society14, Danube Private University15, University of Basel16, Hartwick College17, Pompeu Fabra University18
TL;DR: A genome-wide scan for selection using ancient DNA is reported, capitalizing on the largest ancient DNA data set yet assembled: 230 West Eurasians who lived between 6500 and 300 bc, including 163 with newly reported data.
Abstract: Ancient DNA makes it possible to observe natural selection directly by analysing samples from populations before, during and after adaptation events. Here we report a genome-wide scan for selection using ancient DNA, capitalizing on the largest ancient DNA data set yet assembled: 230 West Eurasians who lived between 6500 and 300 bc, including 163 with newly reported data. The new samples include, to our knowledge, the first genome-wide ancient DNA from Anatolian Neolithic farmers, whose genetic material we obtained by extracting from petrous bones, and who we show were members of the population that was the source of Europe's first farmers. We also report a transect of the steppe region in Samara between 5600 and 300 bc, which allows us to identify admixture into the steppe from at least two external sources. We detect selection at loci associated with diet, pigmentation and immunity, and two independent episodes of selection on height.
1,083 citations