title: Genomic insights into the origin of farming in the ancient Near East.
abstract: We report genome-wide ancient DNA from 44 ancient Near Easterners ranging in time between ~12,000 and 1,400 bc, from Natufian hunter-gatherers to Bronze Age farmers. We show that the earliest populations of the Near East derived around half their ancestry from a 'Basal Eurasian' lineage that had little if any Neanderthal admixture and that separated from other non-African lineages before their separation from each other. The first farmers of the southern Levant (Israel and Jordan) and Zagros Mountains (Iran) were strongly genetically differentiated, and each descended from local hunter-gatherers. By the time of the Bronze Age, these two populations and Anatolian-related farmers had mixed with each other and with the hunter-gatherers of Europe to greatly reduce genetic differentiation. The impact of the Near Eastern farmers extended beyond the Near East: farmers related to those of Anatolia spread westward into Europe; farmers related to those of the Levant spread southward into East Africa; farmers related to those of Iran spread northward into the Eurasian steppe; and people related to both the early farmers of Iran and to the pastoralists of the Eurasian steppe spread eastward into South Asia.
authors.forename: Iosif
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Lazaridis
authors.forename: Dani
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nadel
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rollefson
authors.forename: Deborah C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Merrett
authors.forename: Nadin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rohland
authors.forename: Swapan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mallick
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Novak
authors.forename: Beatriz
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gamarra
authors.forename: Kendra
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sirak
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Connell
authors.forename: Kristin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stewardson
authors.forename: Eadaoin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Harney
authors.forename: Qiaomei
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: Gloria
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gonzalez-Fortes
authors.forename: Eppie R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Songül Alpaslan
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Roodenberg
authors.forename: György
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lengyel
authors.forename: Fanny
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bocquentin
authors.forename: Boris
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gasparian
authors.forename: Janet M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Monge
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gregg
authors.forename: Vered
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Eshed
authors.forename: Ahuva-Sivan
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Mizrahi
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Meiklejohn
authors.forename: Fokke
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gerritsen
authors.forename: Luminita
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bejenaru
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Blüher
authors.forename: Archie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: Gianpiero
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cavalleri
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Comas
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Froguel
authors.forename: Edmund
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gilbert
authors.forename: Shona M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Kerr
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kovacs
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Krause
authors.forename: Darren
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: McGettigan
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Merrigan
authors.forename: D Andrew
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Merriwether
authors.forename: Seamus
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: O'Reilly
authors.forename: Martin B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Richards
authors.forename: Ornella
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Semino
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shamoon-Pour
authors.forename: Gheorghe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Stefanescu
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stumvoll
authors.forename: Anke
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tönjes
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Torroni
authors.forename: James F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Loic
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yengo
authors.forename: Nelli A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Hovhannisyan
authors.forename: Nick
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Patterson
authors.forename: Ron
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pinhasi
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Reich
mesh_terms: D000351:Africa, Eastern; D000383:Agriculture / Q000266:history*; D000818:Animals; D001136:Armenia; D001208:Asia; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis; D005060:Europe; D023281:Genomics; D049690:History, Ancient; D063426:Human Migration / Q000266:history*; D006801:Humans; D006824:Hybridization, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D007492:Iran; D007557:Israel; D007597:Jordan; D059125:Neanderthals / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D058974:Phylogeography; D044469:Racial Groups / Q000235:genetics*; D014421:Turkey
chemical_list: D004247:DNA