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They sampled a whole 14 skeletons from two sub-populations and based on that concluded the gene had not yet appeared in the region at all? Please tell me this
by apothegm 1y ago
They sampled a whole 14 skeletons from two sub-populations and based on that concluded the gene had not yet appeared in the region at all?
Please tell me this is just bad reporting.
- theandrewbailey 1y agoA woman's remains would be about the last thing I'd expect to find in a bronze-age battlefield, but out of 14, they found 2. Considering the ubiquity of lactase persistence for centuries, not finding 1 instance on either side is surprising.
- apothegm 1y agoThe article said that previous theories suggested that the gene spread gradually and that for a long time it was increasingly widespread, but not nearly ubiquitous at the time in question. It’s entirely possible that the groups in conflict were among those to whom it hadn’t yet spread.