New DNA research suggests second migration influx of early farmers to Europe
Thursday, June 2, 2011 - 10:30
in Paleontology & Archaeology
(PhysOrg.com) -- In a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) a French team led by molecular anthropologist Marie Lacan of Paul Sabatier University documents the results of their DNA testing of a group of skeletons found in a cave in the 1930s in southern France. The group tested both female linage (mitochondrial) and male (Y-Chromosomal) and found evidence to support the theory that one way that farming made its way into southern Europe was via migration of male farmers from Mediterranean areas, who produced offspring with resident female hunter-gatherers.