Sykes has found that "mitochondrial DNA" is passed from mothers and remains very consistent, with perhaps 1 mutation per 10K years. The "Seven Daughters" refer to the 7 maternal roots of "virtually all 650M modern" (8) Europeans, whom Sykes labels Ursula, Xenia, Helena (my line), Velda, Tara (Sykes' line), Katrine and Jasmine. Their stories are summarized below. A similar mechanism in males, the Y-chromosome, was traced by other researchers to similar conclusions (to 10 v. 7 roots).
Sykes is excited that his new technique has been able to solve some controversial questions. It was able to prove that the reputed remains of assassinated Tsar Nicholas and his family were very likely theirs by linking the DNA to that of living relatives. He confirmed that Polynesians did indeed come by boat from southeast Asia, incredibly paddling their great (some 30 m. long) double-hull boats eastward against the ocean currents, rather than from the Andes in South America going WITH the current, as famously proposed and personally tested by Norwegian anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl (i.e. in his balsa raft Kon-Tiki). He was also able to prove with his method that Europeans were descended from more recent Cro-Magnons v. much older Neanderthals, which have since become extinct, solving "one of the longest-running and most deep-seated controversies in human evolution" (110), the debate between the "multi-regionalist" (common gene-pool between Homo erectus, neanderthalenis, and sapiens) and "replacement" schools. For now (until and unless a descendent of Neanderthal surfaces in the future) we can assume they went extinct. "An era that had lasted for a quarter of a million years [i.e. since Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon lines split] ended, finally and irreversibly, in a cave in southern Spain about 28K years ago" (125).
The next controversy involved whether modern Europeans descended from the original Paleolithic Cro-Magnon hunter-gatherers who had migrated there from Africa early on or from Middle Eastern farmers who came much later, after the agricultural revolution. "Was there a replacement of the hunter-gatherers by the farmers, just as the Neanderthals had been pushed aside by the technologically advanced Cro-Magnons? Or was it instead the idea of agriculture, rather than the farmers themselves, which spread from the Near East into Europe?" (136). Archaeologists divide the Stone Age into Old (Paleolithic, 2M to 15K yrs ago, at the end of the last Ice Age), Middle (Mesolithic, 15K yrs ago to dawn of agriculture starting around 10K yrs ago and "spreading" worldwide w/in a few thousand yrs, "independently and at different times in at least 9 different parts of the world ... India, China, west Africa, Ethiopia, New Guinea, Central America, eastern US" 133) and New (Neolithic). The Paleolithic is further divided into Lower, Middle and Upper phases, corresponding roughly with Homo erectus, neanderthalensis and sapiens, the latter arriving on the scene in Africa around 100K yrs ago (132) and in Europe around 40-50K yrs ago. Agriculture allowed much less land per individual to support life and freed people for other activities, e.g. craftsmen, artists, mystics, specialists (later philosophers, thinkers). On the downside, proximity to animals and other people allowed diseases to boom.
"The first nucleus of domestication that we know about appeared about 11K yrs ago in the Near East, in ... the Fertile Crescent ... modern-day Syria, Iraq, Turkey and Iran ... drained by the headwaters of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers ... the same process was repeated ... rice in China, sugar-cane and taro in New Guinea, teosinte (the wild ancestor of maize) in Central America, squash and sunflower in the easter US, beans in India, millet in Ethiopia and sorghum in west Africa ... sheep and goats in the Near East along with cattle, later separately domesticated in India and Africa; pigs in China, horses and yaks in central Asia, and llamas in the Andes of South America" (135-6).
In answer, Sykes found 7 DNA clusters from which nearly all Europeans had descended, with only 1 of them originating in the last 10K years (Basques had a mix of the 6 older lines and none of the newer one). This indicates that most Europeans (80-85%) descend from the original Paleolithic hunter-gatherers and only about 15-20% from the more recent Neolithic farmers who migrated into Europe from the Near East. This was confirmed by (amazingly) sampling DNA from Cheddar Man, the remains of a Paleolithic (carbon dated to about 9K yrs old, at least 3K yrs before farming reached Britain) young man whose DNA was shown to be very modern, indeed "the sequence lay at the center of the largest of the 7 mitochondrial clusters" (179). The DNA samples indicated the farmers had taken 2 main routes; "one branch headed up from the Balkans across the Hungarian plain and along the river valleys of central Europe to the Baltic Sea. The other was confined to the Mediterranean coast as far as Spain, then could be traced around the coast of Portugal and up the Atlantic coast to western Britain" (144). These routes are confirmed by archaeology.
Herewith descriptions of the "7 daughters:"
Ursula [i.e. haplogroup U], b. 45K yrs ago, in a world "a lot colder than it is today, and [one that] would get colder still in the millennia to come leading up to the Great Ice Age. Some Neanderthals were still in existence, but (the author conjectures) they kept their distance from the more advanced Cro-Magnons of Ursula's tribe. Ursula was born in a shallow cave cut into the cliffs (also used by Cave Bear in winter) at the foot of what is now Mount Parnassus, close to what was to become the ancient Greek classical site of Delphi" (202). Her tribe followed the big game up and down the mountain in spring and fall, respectively. "Life was very, very hard, and survival depended on a strong constitution and a great deal of luck" (210) and constant hard work. "Her clan were the first modern humans successfully to colonize Europe ... today about 11% of modern Europeans are the direct maternal descendants of Ursula. They come from all parts of Europe, but the clan is particularly well represented in western Britain and Scandinavia. Cheddar Man is perhaps the most celebrated of its former members" (212).
Xenia [haplogroup X], b. 25K yrs ago in a round hut, about 3m in diameter, frame constructed of Mammoth bones, covered w/skins, into a world even colder than in Ursula's time (in winter, 20 below zero (probably C?) for days or weeks at a time). The Neanderthals are now gone. Europe was mostly tundra, with a few trees in its southern reaches. "Massive herds of bison and reindeer moved slowly over the plains, feeding on the rich growth of grass and mosses" (213), and the human tribes followed (north in spring, south in fall) and fed on them. Other animals were wild horse, wild ass and giant woolly mammoth. About 6% of modern Europeans and 1% of native Americans (having moved east across "the endless steppes of central Asia and Siberia" (220) and eventually across the Aleutian land-bridge over the Bering Strait) descend from Xenia in 3 branches; "one is still largely confined to eastern Europe, while the other 2 have spread further to the west into central Europe and as far as France and Britain" (220). There were 2 land-bridge periods; the first 50K yrs ago lasting 12K yrs, the 2nd during the last Great Ice Age, 25K to 13K yrs ago (280). Sykes believes the genetics points to the latter land-bridge as when humans crossed over into Alaska from Siberia (281).
Helena [haplogroup H], b. 20K yrs ago, near the Mediterranean coast (of France), when the last Ice Age was at its most severe, with northern Europe under an ice sheet and human tribes pushed up against the Pyrenees and Alps, many funnelling down the Rhone to the Mediterranean lowlands. Helena's tribe stayed close to the Mediterranean shoreline in summer and headed northwest onto the tundra for a 6-week trip to the Dordogne (runs from Spanish Pyrenees to north of Bordeaux, there joining the Garonne) river valley as fall approached, where "the great river flowed green and smooth between high cliffs of yellow grey limestone" (222). They stayed in caves along the river and waited for the reindeer to come, on their way south, staying only long enough to kill some deer and head south again before winter set in (even there it could stay at minus 10 for weeks at a time). Helena's clan is the most successful in Europe, her mitochondrial DNA is the reference sequence, to which all mutations are compared. 47% of modern Europeans descend from her. Is her DNA especially hardy or is this just coincidence?
Velda [haplogroup V], b. 17K yrs ago "in northern Spain in the mountains of Cantabria, a few miles behind what is now the port of Santander ... the Great Ice Age [has] tightened its grip still further ... the plains of northern Europe [are] completely deserted; all life, animal and human, [is] compressed into the Ukraine, southern France, Italy and the Iberian peninsula" (234). Her tribe hunted both bison on the plains and smaller animals in the coastal forests, proximity to both allowing them to maintain a permanent base in the area. Velda was taller than most, at 5'4". The women "maintained complete control of the process and the mystery of birth ... the men providing food and protection" (236). Leopards were a risk and fires were lit at nite at the cave entrance to ward them off. Velda was artistic and wished to be allowed to produce cave art used for prehunt ceremonies. Artists were also expected to have a gift for magic, but since this is impossible to demonstrate they'd instead tend to "exaggerate their eccentric behavior or claim descent from a long line of magicians" (238). Velda's husband was attacked and killed by a pack of hyenas on his way home from a hunt. Her ivory carving talent soon became known among neighboring tribes. She d. at 38. About 5% of modern (mostly western) Europeans are descended from her. A small group reached northernmost Europe, to present-day Saami of Finland and northern Norway.
Tara [haplogroup T], like Velda, b. 17K yrs ago "in the hills of Tuscany in NW Italy" (243). Tara's world was much less prosperous, than Velda's or Helena's (whose reliable access to big-game led to relative affluence, increasing population, social interaction at hunting gatherings, flourishing artistic culture). Warmer temperatures meant more trees, fewer tundra animals and more harder-to-hunt forest animals like deer and boer. Tara's band of about 20 was more self-contained, mobile, and closer to the edge of survival. In fall they migrated down the Arno river to the Mediterranean Sea. Tara invents a canoe, which allows the band to stay near the ocean year-round, fishing. She died and was buried by the sea she loved, now 20 miles off the coast of Livorno, Italy. Just over 9% of native Europeans descend from Tara, "living along the Mediterranean and the western edge of Europe ... particularly numerous in the west of Britain and in Ireland" (251). Sykes belongs to Tara's clan.
Katrine [haplogroup K], b. 15K yrs ago in what is now Venice, Italy, but was then the "vast wooded plain that stretched from [the Adriatic] to the Alps and took in the wide Po valley from Bologna to Milan and Turin" (252). The sea was then 100 miles away. The woods were much larger than Tara's and more sparsely populated. Tara's band lived in the northern part of the forest, with the Alps clearly in view. Tara's band befriends a wolf who, in turn, helps them hunt. But the wolves were torn between life with humans, safer and with steady food, and the call of the wild. By 8K yrs ago, dogs had become indispensible companions of hunters across Europe. Around 6% of Europeans descend from her, concentrated around Italy and the Mediterranean.
Jasmine [haplogroup J], b. 13K yrs ago (? he doesn't say) about a mile from the Euphrates river (which "carried the rain and melted snow from the mountains of Anatolia in the north through wide grassy plains to join the River Tigris on its journey to the Persian Gulf" 260) in what is now Syria, had it easier than the others, living in one of the first villages (pop. 300) in a circular hut, partly dug into the soil. The Great Ice Age was over, with melting now for 4k yrs as sea level rose dramatically (? perhaps a meter a decade, but with some catastrophic changes as ice blockages are breached, 1/2 m overnight?). Jasmine's village lived on migrating Persian gazelle in addition to nuts, etc. Jasmine and her man experimented with seeds in a little plot, developing expertise and trading with other experimenters, creating the dawn of agriculture and animal husbandry. "Cattle, domesticated from the ferocious wild aurochs, became docile suppliers of meat, milk and traction" (266). With plenty of food (under control now), the human population boomed, leading unfortunately also to overcrowding and disease. Since agriculture is mainly an idea, it can (and did) spread "quickly by word of mouth and by a few seeds and animals ... no need to insist [on] ... a large-scale invasion" (268) of farmers conquering hunter-gatherers. It caught on at different rates. The Danes, with plenty of seafood, didn't sign on for another 1K yrs. All prior mothers were Upper Paleolithic, while Jasmine is Neolithic. As already stated, less than 17% of Europeans are Jasminians. Unlike the others, these are not evenly distributed throughout Europe. One branch follows the Mediterranean coast to Spain, Portugal, western Britain (esp. Cornwall, Wales, west Scotland). The other branch heads NW through Europe, reflecting even today their migration from the Near East so long ago.
The author includes 2 interesting charts mapping out his findings so far. Figure 6 (p. 272) shows the "7 daughters" and their interconnections (and unnamed subcategories), while Figure 7 (p. 275) shows "World Clans and Where They Are Found." I'll summarize this interesting figure with words: There's a dotted line from Neanderthals, Homo erectus, to a star labelled 'Mitochondrial Eve' (mother of all Homo sapiens), with 2 branches, one to Layla (Africa) and another to the rest of the chain. At the next juncture, 3 branches to Latifa, Lungile (both Africa) and to the rest of the chain. At the next juncture, branches to Lila and Lubaya (both Africa) and the rest. At the next juncture, 2 branches to Limber (Africa) and to the rest. At the next, 2 to Lingaire (Africa) and the rest. At the next, 2 to Latasha (Africa) and the rest. At the next juncture, labelled Lara (Africa and West Eurasia, the only 1 of 13 African clans to branch out of Africa), 4 branches split off to Lalamika, Lamia (both Africa), a side "star" and the rest of the chain. The "side star" has 6 spokes; Elia, Gaia, Malaxshmi (East Eurasia), Djigonasee, Chochmingwu (East Eurasia and America) and Makeda (Africa). The next juncture of the main chain has 5 branches; Aiyana (East Eurasia and America), Naomi (Central and West Eurasia), Xenia (West Eurasia and America), Nuo (East Eurasia) and the rest. The next juncture has 4 branches; Ina, a branch to a juncture joining Helena and Velda, a branch to a juncture joining Jasmine and Tara, and the rest (Ina, Helena, Velda, Jasmine, Tara all Central and West Eurasia). Finally, the next (and last) juncture shows 7 branches to Katrine, Ursula, Ulrike, Uma, Uta, Una (all Central and West Eurasia) and Ulla (Africa). Sykes explains that this figure depicts 26 other clans in addition to the 7 mothers of Europe (33 total, 13 from Africa). 4 clans dominate genetics of native Americans (East Eurasia and America; Chochmingwu, Djigonasee, Aiyana, Ina, with a rarer 5th; Xenia (West Eurasia and America)). He notes Ina seems to have migrated north from SE Asia, across the bridge and south to Central America (not found widely now in Siberia or Alaska, but in South and Central America).
Like most evolutionists, Sykes believes "Mitochondrial Eve" lived around 150K yrs ago, hence the need for his estimate of 10K yrs per mitochondrial DNA mutation (based on current mitochondrial DNA diversity). But if Adam and Eve lived around 6K yrs ago (per OT, Jewish calender, Ussher), the same current diversity would be present if mitochondrial DNA mutated every 400 yrs or so. Hmmm.
My maternal line is RAS, Marguerite Thelma BROKAW (1906-99), Rosa BOLLINGER (1874-1964), Leah CHISNELL (1840s?-19??), ?. Ixxxx's is JH, Janke DILLEMA (1906-71), Jantje WESTRA (1875-1964), Janke BOUWES DIJKSMA (1840s?-19??), ?.
In addition to Sykes' 7 European lines, his chart (scan) shows 12 native lines and 14 others, so a total of 33 human mtDNA lines identified so far (each, of course, with many sub-groups, like H3 within H).
www.oxfordancestors.com
So, according to DA, H3 came from 'Eve' [L0/L1], then L1, [L2, L3] then L3a, then N, then R, then HV, then H, then H3 (cf p131). Dr. Spencer Wells' book 'Deep Ancestry' (DA) p177 says L0 originated in E Africa ~100kya. There were multiple L1 out-migrations from Africa (originally 110kya, but died out by 30kya). L2 splits from L1, then L3 from L2. L3 begats M and N. M is 'the 1st great wave of human migration to leave Africa' (186), heading E via horn of Africa across water to Arabia. The 2nd great wave [N] heads NE via Sinai Peninsula along Nile basin (likely origin of Egyptians?). Then further into E Med and W Asia, likely co-existed w/Neandertals. Almost all mtDNA found in Near East and Europe descend from N (187). Conversely, desc. of N 'comprise the most frequent mtDNA lineages found' in Europe. The R clan originated with an N woman. Descendants live in high frequencies in Anotolian/Caucasus [Turkey] and Iranian regions (192). R originated early i.e. shortly after lineage left Africa, living for thousands of years side-by-side w/N. R entered Europe for the 1st time via Cro-Magnon ~35kya (193), heralding the end of the Neandertals (c230-29kya) via competition. Today R descendants dominate European mtDNA i.e. >75%. DA p194 covers 'Pre-HV' (also called R0) are today centered in Arabia, but also Red Sea, , thru-out Near East, Ethiopia, Somalia (latter 2 likely via later migrations BACK into Africa). From their Near East home base, some moved E into India, some back into Africa, and some N across Caucasus Mtns, W across Turkey, then into Europe (i.e. Cro-Magnon's 1st into Europe). HV split off later, 'giving rise to the 2 most prevalent female lineages found in W Europe; H and V' (195). While all existed 20kya, they didn't dominate til after Ice Age c12kya. Human groups 'hibernated' (i.e. hunkered down survival) in 3 places; Spain, Italy, Balkans, then repopulated Europe after warmup. The HV group stayed in Near East (v. India, Africa, C Asia). Found today in Turkey, S Russia, Georgia (196). c30kya some HV moved into Europe. These early Europeans retreated to 3 'holding areas' during Ice Age. Populationsn were drastically reduced as was genetic diversity. H and V dominated in the survivors (75% of modern Europeans). H alone is 40-60% of Europeans. While primarily a European lineage, it is also found in 25% of Turkey(ans), 20% of Caucasus Mtns region, 20% of SW Asians, 15% of C Asians, 5% N Asians! (198). In Europe, its age is 10-15kya, while in C/E Asia its 30kya (reduced diversity via Ice Age reduces apparent age, so they probably MADE it to Europe earlier). Need to research H3 more (no info in DA).
- our 7myo hominid relative Toumai, found in the remote sands of the Chadian desert in 2002 (116)
- pre-chimpanzee/pre-human line splits 6mya
- bipedalism 4mya (million yrs ago, in text, 4.5mya in hominid Ardipithecus)
- stone artifact manufacture 2.2mya
- brain expansion 2mya (from ape-like 2-300cc in australopithecines to 6-700cc in Homo habilis, 'the 1st member of our genus', then to 800-1200cc for Homo erectus. Hominids began using tools during Hh c2.3mya, which likely drove increase in brain size [138], continued to grow til by 500kya it reached 1300cc comparable to modern humans. These big-brain hominids were ancestors of both us and Neanderthals, latter had ~10% bigger brains than us! He says we probably won that struggle by using our more advanced language skills)
- lived ?mya, earliest member of our genus, Homo, found in the Rift Valley in year? (116)
- our ancestor Homo erectus left Africa ~1.8mya, settling in tropical and sub-trop zones of C and E Asia (116), but mostly d. out c100kya exc perhaps on remote SE Asian islands.
- appearance of modern humans (homo sapiens) 200kya
- early Homo sapiens who made it into the Middle East c110kya, but then d. out c30kya (116). The next hominids we find living outside Africa lived in Australia c50kya, oldest in world (outside Africa), predate Europeans by 10kyrs. Only Hs did rock ark, NOT Neanderthal.
- modern behavior 50kya (after pop. crashed to perhaps 2k, humans experienced a 'Great Leap Forward' e.g. language prompted perhaps by ice age difficulties. Soon after was the 1st migration out of Africa, w/others to follow, eventually populating all 6 habitable continents [141]. The 1st wave populated S Asia and Australia [Asia = 'Shem'] (lower water level so more land above water e.g. strait between Aust. and New Guinea). 2nd wave was via Middle East then pop. much of N hemisphere ['Japheth']. Of course many stayed in Africa ['Ham']).
Y Chromosome chart (i.e. male descent):
Hmmm, a recent STEWART list posting (found 5-5-12, posted 4/25) by Matt STEWART says his '67 Marker DNA results' (kit #220399 on Family Tree DNA) show his Haplogroup is R1b1a2a1a1b4b or R-M222, which is not very common for STEWARTs (hmmm, what is?). His only matches 2 other STEWARTs at 67 markers so far. His last known (earliest?) STEWART relative w/certainty is Charles STEWART b. c1810 in VA or KY who m. Eleanor 'Nellie' ELLINGSWORTH b1810 in KY. He also said his DNA links him to [Irish hero] 'Niall of the 9 Hostages'!
I visited the www.FamilyTreeDNA.com website and found that a Y test is $169, mtDNA is $159 and $289 for both. A comment was 'the 12 marker test is worthless (i.e. too many hits, low accuracy), then 25, 37, but the 67 marker test delivers 97% accuracy (and is recommended), while the 111 marker test has 99% accuracy. Hmmm, maybe try sometime?
mitochondrial DNA (i.e. female descent):
'Any piece of DNA that is not shuffled thru the action of recombination can be traced back in time to an earlier ancestor. There are 6.5B such pieces of mtDNA today and around half that number of Y chromosomes' (155).
DNA sequencing technology won its discovers the Nobel Prize in 1980 (158).
The human genome is made up of 2.85 billion units (1). DNA is a molecule that, if stretched, would be nearly 6 feet long (14). Its dbl helix structure is a sugar-based backbone w/nucleic acid bases of 4 types (aka nucleotides); (A)denine, (C)ytosine, (G)uanine and (T)hymine (14). Collections of many of these 'nucleotide bases' in certain orders are called 'genes', which are scattered around the genome. Genes tend to be between 5k and 50k nucleotide bases in length. Altogether, the human genome contains around 30k genes. Most of it has unknown function and is called 'junk DNA'. In each generation about 50 changes (mutations) occur out of the billions of nucleotides that make up the human genome. The largest mass migration in human history took place 1840-1920 when nearly 40M people (more than dbl the US pop in 1840) moved from Europe to the USA, incl. 4.5M Irish (fleeing potato famine), 5M Italians fleeing poverty, 2M Jews fleeing pogroms of E Europe (11). 18C Swedish botanist Carl von Linne (aka Linnaeus) devised the Genus species system (humans are Genus 'Homo', species 'sapiens'). He named more than 12k other species (there were also genera, phyla and 2 kingdoms; Animal and Plant, p57, meantime other kingdoms e.g. Protista [single-celled organisms e.g. protozoans and algae] and Fungi have been split off Plant kingdom, he also completely missed Monera [bacteria], found by Ernst Haeckel in late 19C w/microscope, Monera has recently been split into Archaea and Eubacteria i.e. using genetic techniques). He thot there were 5 distinct human species; Africans, Americans (natives), Asians, Europeans, and 'monstrosus', a 'blatantly racist category for all the rest that he didn't much like' (17 e.g. flatheads, troglodytes, dwarves which he wrote of but were never found). As late as the 1960s a bk used similar groups; Caucasoids, Negroids, Mongoloids, Capoids (Khoisan Africans) and Australoids (aboriginals, 17). Linnaeus said God made them separately, while by the 60s they were attributed to Darwinian evolution. Richard Lewontin's 1974 bk (author worked for him later) shocked many by discovering that 85% of human genetic variation was WITHIN populations, w/only 7% among pop's and 8% among 'races' (21). The 6B building blocks of DNA in humans are divided into shorter pieces known as chromosomes, which vary in length from 250M to around 50M nucleotides (36). The Y chromosome is one of the short ones. These stay constant in men other than mutations every ? years/gens. DNA between any 2 people is 999 of 1k the same (less variation by 4-10x, depending on which other species [i.e. 4x for Grt Apes, our nearest non-human 'cousins'], 40).
Places of high genetic diversity on earth are 1 EC Africa (by crux e.g. Nigeria), 2 Indonesia and 3 NC S America (so they've been there the longest i.e. accumulating genetic mutations). The 7 Haplogroups that account for the majority [>95%] of European genetic diversity are:
R1a1: origin E Europe (>1/2 of Russian, Czech men), spread from Russia into Europe in last 10kyrs, looks like these were 1st Indo-European language speakers, later English, French, other European, as well as Indian [sanskrit], Iran, mostly male pattern so likely via conquest)
R1b (M343): origin W Europe and Britain (i.e. Celtic, came to Europe 30kya)
I1a: origin Scandinavia, came to Europe 20kya
I1b: origin Serbia and, to lesser extent, Moldova, to Europe 20kya
J2: origin NW Iraq, expanded to Europe in last 10kyrs
N: origin Russia (probably Rus, origin Siberia, reindeer herders, Uralic language)
E3b: origin N Africa and, to lesser extent, horn of Africa/Aden in Arabia just across water (highest [of Europe] in Greece), 25% of men, expanded to Europe in last 10kyrs
About 80% of European gene pool are from 1st Paleolithic hunter-gatherers who survived the last glacial maximum c50kya. Other 20% from Middle Eastern agriculturalists who came later (51). Wells' Danish grandma had mtDNA of Haplogroup J, originating in Middle East and later spreading NW into E, then C Europe, then Scandanavia (60, Mabel likely of this group too). He says people probably migrated from Middle East to Europe due to the 'Neolithic Revolution' p63 i.e. discovery of agriculture. This happened c10kya (64), beginning in Fertile Crescent (e.g. ancient city sites Catal Huyuk, Abu Hureyra, Jericho. So (some) people settled down to farm v. most remaining hunter-gatherers. He says before this occurred, world pop. was 'a few million hunter-gatherers, spread across the world's (6) habitable continents' (66). Scholars have debated whether just the idea spread or actual people did, and Wells thinks the J haplogroup argues for the latter i.e. J peoples migrated NW. Ag also spread E toward India (tho some think it developed separately there). Ag dev map p69 shows ag started in Levant (Israel, Syria) then spread NW/NE into Asia and Europe. Similar to Y clans, the top 6 mtDNA clans that acct for >95% of European women are J H K T U and V (72-3). U is the oldest at c50ya. H T and V also appear to predate the arrival of the 1st farmers c10kya. In fact, the only one to arrive AFTER the farming revolution is J (and some lesser subgroups of H and T). About 80% of European women do NOT trace to the later Middle East-based farmers. H originates in Europe, K in SE Europe, T in Russia, U in Lapland/Iran (equiv of Y R1b i.e. Celtic, oldest in Europe), V in Lapland only. SW says during last ice age, humans took refuge in warm parts of S Europe (NE Spain, NC Italy, Serbia) and these areas served as staging areas for later recolonization of Europe (82).
SW says Columbus 1492 'reunited 2 branches of the human family' separated long before (p102, hmmm, or was it Leif Erikson 10C?).
Visit the website: www.nationalgeographic.com/genographic