18 Europe and western Asia: genetics and population history

Thomas, Mark G.; Kivisild, Toomas; Chikhi, Lounès; Bürger, Joachim

doi:10.1002/9781444351071.wbeghm818

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…Further, despite the claims made in many published studies and by many genetic ancestry testing companies, it is usually not possible to accurately estimate from modern DNA alone the geographical source of a particular mtDNA or Y chr lineage, or where it moved to in the past (Balloux 2010;Chikhi 2009;Eriksson et al 2012). This limitation can be better understood by considering the three main population history inference approaches (Gerbault et al 2014;Thomas et al 2013) that have dominated the scientific literature over the last 40 years: (1) descriptive statistics; (2) model-based inference; (3) interpretative phylogeographic analysis.…”

Section: Ancestry Inferencementioning

confidence: 99%

The Rise and Fall of BritainsDNA: A Tale of Misleading Claims, Media Manipulation and Threats to Academic Freedom

et al. 2018

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Direct-to-consumer genetic ancestry testing is a new and growing industry that has gained widespread media coverage and public interest. Its scientific base is in the fields of population and evolutionary genetics and it has benefitted considerably from recent advances in rapid and cost-effective DNA typing technologies. There is a considerable body of scientific literature on the use of genetic data to make inferences about human population history, although publications on inferring the ancestry of specific individuals are rarer. Population geneticists have questioned the scientific validity of some population history inference approaches, particularly those of a more interpretative nature. These controversies have spilled over into commercial genetic ancestry testing, with some companies making sensational claims about their products. One such company—BritainsDNA—made a number of dubious claims both directly to its customers and in the media. Here we outline our scientific concerns, document the exchanges between us, BritainsDNA and the BBC, and discuss the issues raised about media promotion of commercial enterprises, academic freedom of expression, science and pseudoscience and the genetic ancestry testing industry. We provide a detailed account of this case as a resource for historians and sociologists of science, and to shape public understanding, media reporting and scientific scrutiny of the commercial use of population and evolutionary genetics.

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Section: Ancestry Inferencementioning

confidence: 99%

The Rise and Fall of BritainsDNA: A Tale of Misleading Claims, Media Manipulation and Threats to Academic Freedom

et al. 2018

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“…The northern distribution was embedded in mobile and semi-mobile hunter-gatherer contexts on the East European Plain; the southern is associated with subsistence farming in the Near East. It is worth remem-bering that, while the first was ignored for much of the time (but see Davison et al 2007;Gronenborn 2011), the latter is constantly discussed in archaeogenetic studies (King et al 2008;Battaglia et al 2009;Burger 2010;Thomas et al 2013) (Ammerman, Cavalli-Sforza 1971;1984; but see Currat 2012).…”

Section: Inventions and Re-inventions Of Ceramic Technologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since the revolution in the study of the human genome, studies have focussed on nuclear genetic DNA markers, i.e. mitochondrial (mt) and Y-chromosomal (Renfrew 2000;Renfrew et al 2000;Thomas et al 2013). The first is present in both sexes, but inherited only through the maternal line, while the latter is present only in males, and inherited exclusively through the male line (see Jobling et al 2004).…”

Section: The End Of 'Demic Diffusion' Migratory Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neolithic pots and potters in Europe: the end of ‘demic diffusion’ migratory model

Budja

2013

Doc. praeh.

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In this paper we discuss the inventions and re-inventions of ceramic technology and pot- tery dispersals in foraging and farming contexts in Eurasia. We focus on narratives that operate with- in interpretative paradigms that suggest movements of unidirectional colonisation and ‘demic’ diffusion, and a correlation between pottery and human DNA haplogroup distributions in Europe in the Initial Neolithic. In addition, we present the results of ancient, Mesolithic and Neolithic mitochon- drial DNA analyses, which suggest variations in population trajectories in prehistoric Europe. We comment on a hypothesis presented recently on the correlation between the distribution of the lactase (LCT) gene –13 910*T in the modern population of Europe, which has been shown to be associated with lactase persistence and dairying, and the Neolithic transition to farming in Central Europe.

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“…The more recent studies suggest that a more complex intermediate model involving a succession of migration phases interleaved by local admixture could be a better representation of what actually happened (Whittle, Cummings 2007). Genetic data have been used in order to differentiate between the two hypotheses, but the subject is still debated (Barbujani 2012;Thomas et al 2013).…”

Section: The Mesolithic-neolithic Transition In Europementioning

confidence: 99%

Lactase persistence and milk consumption in Europe: an interdisciplinary approach involving genetics and archaeology

Leonardi

2013

Doc. praeh.

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The ability to digest milk during adulthood (lactase persistence) is a genetically determined trait present only in humans. Its origin and diffusion are correlated with the development of pastoralism and the consumption of fresh milk. This work will present the genetic and archaeologi- cal data that allow the reconstruction of the co-evolutionary process between dairying culture and lactase persistence, as well as a discussion of the chronology and the way lactase persistence spread in Europe.

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18 Europe and western Asia: genetics and population history

Cited by 7 publications

References 53 publications

The Rise and Fall of BritainsDNA: A Tale of Misleading Claims, Media Manipulation and Threats to Academic Freedom

The Rise and Fall of BritainsDNA: A Tale of Misleading Claims, Media Manipulation and Threats to Academic Freedom

Neolithic pots and potters in Europe: the end of ‘demic diffusion’ migratory model

Lactase persistence and milk consumption in Europe: an interdisciplinary approach involving genetics and archaeology

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