Blond hair may trace back to Anatolia's early farmers
A genetic thesis points to EEF farmers as the origin of blondness in Europe, but the Yamnaya camp is not giving up. The debate remains open.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
EEF and the enigma of Europe's blonds
Historical genetics has once again stirred one of the most uncomfortable questions in European prehistory: which population brought the light traits – blond hair and blue eyes – that we now associate with the north of the continent? The latest controversy points to the Neolithic farmers of Anatolia (EEF), specifically the Globular Amphora culture of central and eastern Europe.
Supporters of this thesis argue that the central and eastern European EEF, genetically related to today's Sardinians, would have contributed "blondism" through their mixing with the Yamnaya herders, who are thought to have been darker. They base this on an interpretation of haplogroups and on the geographic distribution of these traits.
The rebuttal was not long in coming. It is pointed out that the Yamnaya already showed a non-negligible incidence of blond hair and blue eyes long before setting foot in western Europe, as the Tocharian mummies of western China would suggest. And an awkward fact is added: Ireland, with its high frequency of redheads, shares the paternal haplogroup R1b with Spain, which is attributed to the steppe people. If the EEF were responsible, the distribution should be different.
The debate, as often happens in historical genetics, gets stuck in the interpretation of the data. The only certainty is that modern Europeans are the result of a cocktail of migrations far more complex than that of "blond invaders" and "dark-haired farmers".
Historical genetics has once again stirred one of the most uncomfortable questions in European prehistory: which population brought the light traits – blond hair and blue eyes – that we now associate with the north of the continent? The latest controversy points to the Neolithic farmers of Anatolia (EEF), specifically the Globular Amphora culture of central and eastern Europe.
Supporters of this thesis argue that the central and eastern European EEF, genetically related to today's Sardinians, would have contributed "blondism" through their mixing with the Yamnaya herders, who are thought to have been darker. They base this on an interpretation of haplogroups and on the geographic distribution of these traits.
The rebuttal was not long in coming. It is pointed out that the Yamnaya already showed a non-negligible incidence of blond hair and blue eyes long before setting foot in western Europe, as the Tocharian mummies of western China would suggest. And an awkward fact is added: Ireland, with its high frequency of redheads, shares the paternal haplogroup R1b with Spain, which is attributed to the steppe people. If the EEF were responsible, the distribution should be different.
The debate, as often happens in historical genetics, gets stuck in the interpretation of the data. The only certainty is that modern Europeans are the result of a cocktail of migrations far more complex than that of "blond invaders" and "dark-haired farmers".
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (28 replies).
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