Yes, race does exist. But it is not how you think it is. Scientists are discovering that modern humans are a product of mixture between several ancient populations. In other words, there is no such thing as a ‘pure’ race among modern humans. In this post, I will go into detail about what those ancient populations are and the roles they played in shaping modern humans genetics.
- Anatolian (Western) Farmers
Anatolian farmers were an ancient farming group scattered across modern-day Turkey and northern Syria. These western farmers were responsible for spreading farming into Europe and into other parts of the Middle east 8000 years ago. Modern Europeans have ancestry from these farmers in mixed form, with Sardinians from Italy having the highest (~65%). This could be due to Sardinia being a relatively isolated island off the coast of Italy, allowing them to preserve their genes.
In West Asia, ethnic groups in the Levant, such as the Lebanese and Syrians also have higher Anatolian farmer ancestry (~58%).
2. Iranian (Eastern) Farmers
Iranian farmers were another ancient farming group situated in the Zagros Mountains in Iran. These eastern farmers were responsible for spreading farming to other parts of the Middle east and into South Asia ~ 7500 years ago. According to genomic analysis, ancient and modern people from the Middle east are a two-way mix between eastern farmers and western farmers.
Eastern farmers also moved to South Asia and mixed with the indigenous hunter-gatherers in the region, who are genetically closer to Andamanese people. Recent DNA analysis shows that Iranian farmer ancestry is highest in Baloch people from Pakistan (~70%), followed by various groups across India and Iran.
3. Yellow River Farmers
Yellow river farmers were an ancient farming population who were spread across Northern China. DNA from the 7,700 year old remains of two women (one in her 20s, the other one in her 50s) found in a cave near Northern China showed that modern East Asians share 65 percent of their genomes with these two ancient women. The genetic match between ancient and modern East Asians shows that farming developed there independently of how it developed in other parts of the world.
4. Bantu Farmers
Even though people in sub-Saharan Africa are the most genetically diverse people in the world, the inhabitants in the region have similar ancestry because of the Bantu migration from West Africa that occurred ~ 5000 years ago. This migration spread agriculture and a family of common languages into eastern and southern Africa.
It was also found that certain groups in East Africa, such as Ethiopians, have substantial Anatolian/Levant farmer ancestry in mixed form as well.
5. Steppe Herders
Steppe herders were an ancient pastoralist group who lived around present-day Russia. This group was found to have lighter hair and eyes based on DNA from skeletons, and were responsible for bringing these traits to modern Europeans when they moved across Europe. Modern Europeans are predominantly a two-way mix between this group and the Anatolian farmers.
Modern humans across the world are a product of mixture between two or more ancient populations. Even though races and ethnic groups do exist, the concept of purity among races is an unfounded assumption as DNA from ancient remains shows extensive mixing between human groups.
