Stephan Milo speaks with Dr. Cosimo Posth, an expert on ancient genetics, discussing the source of the genetics of current native Europeans.  Posth explains that humans populated Europe in three large phases— First during the initial Aurignacian when modern humans first arrived on the continent, then when more migrated into the continent from the eastern Steppes at about eight thousand years ago during the Neolithic era, and then more arrived at about five thousand years ago during the Bronze Age.

Following are points that Posth talks about:

— Only three known human genomes exist that are older than 40 thousand years— one from Siberia, one from Romania, and one from China.  The Siberian and Romanian ones don’t contribute to later European populations, but the Chinese one does contribute to current East Asians.

— A few later European individuals from 37 thousand years ago have some genetic continuity with modern Europeans, but only a small amount.

— Starting at around eight thousand years ago (the Neolithic), much of the current native population of Europe started to arrive from the Eastern Steppes where they mixed with and replaced the previous hunter-gathering populace, and they brought their culture and technology with them.

— The next big migration happened at about five thousand years ago during the Bronze Age, where 2/3 of the current genetic landscape of native Europeans arrived from the Eastern Steppes and Middle East.

— Light colored skin and hair are due to mutations that have not shown up until relatively recently during the Neolithic period at about eight thousand years ago.  Northern Europeans initially had darker complexions and they got their vitamin D from meat consumption rather than from sunlight.

— The amount of genes from Neanderthals in the current native European populace has remained stable since about 35 thousand years ago and they are not becoming more diluted, contrary to what some scientists have recently claimed.