Etruria was a region located in present day Central Italy that gave birth to one of the first civilizations in Europe. The origin of the Etruscan civilization is a long-standing subject of debate among scholars from different disciplines. The bulk of the information has been reconstructed from ancient texts and archaeological findings and, in the last...
New Study (BBC): Ancient Tribes From Armenian Highlands and North Eurasia Gave Birth To Modern Europeans
Findings based on analysis of genomes from ancient Europeans (Nature journal reports) revealed that modern European gene pool was formed when three ancient populations mixed within the last 7,000 years. Blue-eyed swarthy hunter-gatherers, mingled with brown-eyed pale skinned farmers as well as northern Eurasians have been instrumental in the emergence of modern Europeans (BBC reports). Two of the 3...
Lecture on the Armenian DNA – Library Of Congress
Library Of Congress has recently hosted a great lecture on the Armenian DNA titled: “DNA & the Origins of Peoples: The Armenians”. The lecture was given by two speakers: Hovann Simonian and Peter Hrechdakian. Bellow I have compiled a summery of the highlights with screenshots from the power-point presentation. The first speaker is Peter Hrechdakian who explains...
The Precious Stones of Aratta
Aratta is a mountainous land that appears in Sumerian myths identified by various scholars with Ararat (Ayrarat) of historical Armenia.[1][2][3][4][5] Aratta was considered a holy site (home to the goddess Inanna, analogue of Ishtar, Astghik and sometimes Anahit) [6][7][8] famous for metallurgy, stone masonry, gold production, silver and their precious blue Azurite stones. Since the antiquity Armenia was...
New DNA study shows Armenian genetic traces across the world
A new paper in Science by Hellenthal et al. (2014) reveals extensive admixture in humans over the last few thousand years. Admixture is the result of previously distant populations meeting and breeding, leaving a genetic signal within the descendants’ genomes. However, over time the signal decays and can be hard to trace. Hellenthal et al. (2014) describe a method, using a technique called...
Genetics and the spread of agriculture
Genetic studies show that Neolithic farming defused from Armenian population into Europe. Haplogroup G for example has it’s highest diversity within Armenians, which indicates that it originated with Armenians and spread to Caucasus and Europe. “Haplogroup G, together with J2 clades, has been associated with the spread of agriculture, especially in the European context....
