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Europe's conquering heroes? Likely farmers: study
Reuters ^ | Jan 19, 2010 | Reporting by Maggie Fox; Editing by JoAnne Allen

Posted on 01/19/2010 3:44:16 PM PST by decimon

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The conquerors who spread their seed across Europe in ancient times were prosperous farmers who imported their skills from the Middle East, researchers reported on Tuesday.

A study of the Y chromosome -- passed down with very little change from father to son -- suggests that the men of Europe are descended from populations that moved into Europe 10,000 years ago from the "Fertile Crescent", which stretches from Egypt across the Middle East into present-day Iraq.

"Maybe, back then, it was just sexier to be a farmer," Dr. Patricia Balaresque of Britain's University of Leicester said in a statement.

The researchers studied the DNA of 2,574 men from across Europe, they report in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS Biology, available at http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.1000285.

Because the Y chromosome changes so little from one generation to the next, changes can be registered by measuring random genetic mutations. This "molecular clock" painted a picture of genetic spread across Europe from the Middle East, where farming originated.

"We focused on the commonest Y-chromosome lineage in Europe, carried by about 110 million men," Balaresque said.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: History; Science
KEYWORDS: creation; evolution; godsgravesglyphs

1 posted on 01/19/2010 3:44:17 PM PST by decimon
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To: SunkenCiv

Shane ping.


2 posted on 01/19/2010 3:45:10 PM PST by decimon
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To: decimon

how come white folks (european) never know how to farm?


3 posted on 01/19/2010 3:49:11 PM PST by edcoil (If I had 1 cent for every dollar the government saved, Bill Gates and I would be friends.)
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To: edcoil
how come white folks (european) never know how to farm?

Who were white? The then indigenous people? The migrating newcomers? Both? Neither?

If there's an answer then I don't know what it is. In any case, we whities are from this stock.

4 posted on 01/19/2010 3:54:40 PM PST by decimon
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To: edcoil

Those Europeans they test are probably Muslims that just showed up last week! lol


5 posted on 01/19/2010 3:55:36 PM PST by red tie
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To: decimon
"Maybe, back then, it was just sexier to be a farmer,"

A farmer had a better chance of feeding his family.
6 posted on 01/19/2010 4:04:25 PM PST by cripplecreek (Seniors, the new shovel ready project under socialized medicine.)
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To: decimon; blam

I have wondered why the N1 dna tag was so rare concidering that they introduced FARMING. Maybe they got et by those that followed or et themselves.


7 posted on 01/19/2010 4:16:20 PM PST by Little Bill (Carol Che-Porter is a MOONBAT.)
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To: cripplecreek
A farmer had a better chance of feeding his family.

Better to raise a boar than to hunt one.

That hunter stuff may seem romantic but it must have been a truly Hobbesian existence.

8 posted on 01/19/2010 4:19:58 PM PST by decimon
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To: decimon

If you were a female from a tribe gnawing bones and digging roots out of the frozen ground while a neighboring tribe was relaxing and eating good, joining the visiting team would look pretty good.


9 posted on 01/19/2010 4:23:54 PM PST by cripplecreek (Seniors, the new shovel ready project under socialized medicine.)
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To: cripplecreek

The latter group would be less apt to starve over the winter. But then, the former group might be better fighters and so slaughter the latter group. Sounds a lot like...history. ;-)


10 posted on 01/19/2010 4:30:00 PM PST by decimon
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To: decimon

Its pretty likely that the farmers were effective hunters as well.


11 posted on 01/19/2010 4:34:06 PM PST by cripplecreek (Seniors, the new shovel ready project under socialized medicine.)
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To: decimon

Kind of a silly discussion. It’s perfectly obvious why farmers displace hunters.

Population densities 50 to 100 times greater will do that.

50 guys going into battle against 2500 are pretty likely to lose.


12 posted on 01/19/2010 5:27:33 PM PST by Sherman Logan (Never confuse schooling with education.)
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To: decimon

Farmers did not always have a more secure food supply. Drought, bugs, raids, etc.

Recent studies have shown that hunter-gatherers didn’t have to work as hard and probably enjoyed life more than early farmers.

But hunter-gatherers were apex predators. Like others of this group (big cats, wolves, bears, etc.) they require truly huge territories. Very thin on the ground, by definition. Except in a very few favored places like the Pacific NW.

Famers can support a whole lot more people on the same ground. Thickly settled always beats thinly settled.

Until we get into nomadic horse archer raiders from the steppes. But that’s a whole other story.


13 posted on 01/19/2010 5:33:09 PM PST by Sherman Logan (Never confuse schooling with education.)
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To: decimon; StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 21twelve; 24Karet; 2ndDivisionVet; ...

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Gods
Graves
Glyphs
Thanks decimon.

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.
GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother, and Ernest_at_the_Beach
 

·Dogpile · Archaeologica · LiveScience · Archaeology · Biblical Archaeology Society ·
· Discover · Nat Geographic · Texas AM Anthro News · Yahoo Anthro & Archaeo · Google ·
· The Archaeology Channel · Excerpt, or Link only? · cgk's list of ping lists ·


14 posted on 01/19/2010 5:51:08 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Happy New Year! Freedom is Priceless.)
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To: SunkenCiv
Say, big boy, are you a farmer?


15 posted on 01/20/2010 12:54:23 PM PST by colorado tanker
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To: colorado tanker

Is that a zucchini or ya just glad ya seen me?


16 posted on 01/20/2010 3:42:29 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Happy New Year! Freedom is Priceless.)
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