Most Modern European Males Descend From Farmers Who Migrated From The Near East

A new study from the University of Leicester has found that most men in Europe descend from the first farmers who migrated from the Near East 10,000 years ago. The findings are published January 19 in the open-access journal PLoS Biology.

The invention of farming is perhaps the most important cultural change in the history of modern humans. Increased food production led to the development of societies that stayed put, rather than wandering in search of food. The resulting population growth culminated in the seven billion people who now live on the planet. In Europe, farming spread from the ‘Fertile Crescent’, a region extending from the eastern Mediterranean coast to the Persian Gulf and including the Tigris and Euphrates valleys.

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