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Human evolution

Ancient DNA steps into the language debate

Nature volume 522, pages 164–165 (2015)Cite this article

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Two studies of ancient human DNA reveal expansions of Bronze Age populations that shed light on the long-running debate about the origins and spread of Indo-European languages. See Article p.167 & Letter p.207

The archaeological adage that pots are not people expresses the challenge of using cultural artefacts to trace the movement of populations. To surmount this obstacle, archaeologists and population geneticists are joining forces to extract DNA from human remains that are found with archaeological evidence of ancient cultures. In this issue, Haak et al.1 (page 207) and Allentoft et al.2 (page 167) report two of the largest studies of ancient DNA to date. Combined, the studies analyse 170 samples, and each group brings evidence to bear on a long-standing controversy about the origins of the Indo-European language family.

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Figure 1: The spread of Indo-European languages.

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  1. John Novembre is in the Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.,

    John Novembre

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Novembre, J. Ancient DNA steps into the language debate. Nature 522, 164–165 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/522164a

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