Half of Western European men descended from one Bronze Age ‘king’

Mass graves were replaced by individual burials for the elite in the Bronze Age showing a shift in social structure Credit: PA

Half of Western European men are descended from one Bronze Age ‘king’ who sired a dynasty of elite nobles which spread throughout Europe, a new study has shown.

The monarch, who lived around 4,000 years ago, is likely to have been one of the earliest chieftains to take power in the continent.

He was part of a new order which emerged in Europe following the Stone Age, sweeping away the previous egalitarian Neolithic period and replacing it with hierarchical societies which were ruled by a powerful elite.

It is likely his power stemmed from advances in technology such as metal working and wheeled transport which enabled organised warfare for the first time.

Although it is not known who he was, or where he lived, scientists say he must have existed because of genetic variation in today’s European populations.

Dr Chris Tyler-Smith, from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, said: “One of the most novel and exciting things we have found in the study is the extraordinary explosion in numbers of males at specific times.

“In Europe there was huge population expansion in just a few generations. Genetics can’t tell us why it happened but we know that a tiny number of elite males were controlling reproduction and dominating the population.

“Half of the Western European population is descended from just one man. We can only speculate as to what happened. The best explanation is that they may have resulted from advances in technology that could be controlled by small groups of men.

“Wheeled transport, metal working and organised warfare are all candidate explanations that can now be investigated further.” telegraph.co.uk


Actualización: La mitad de los hombres de Europa occidental descienden de un 'rey' de la Edad de Bronce - RT
La mitad de los varones de Europa occidental son descendientes de un hombre que vivió en la Edad de Bronce y que fue el fundador de una dinastía de aristócratas que colonizaron el continente. Esta es la conclusión de un grupo internacional de científicos cuyo estudio fue publicado en la revista 'Nature Genetics'.

Para obtener este resultado los investigadores compararon la diferencia en el cromosoma Y de 1.200 hombres de 26 países. Este cromosoma se hereda solo a través de la línea masculina.

"La mitad de los europeos son descendientes de un hombre. La genética no nos dice por qué sucedió así, solo podemos elaborar hipótesis. Probablemente, la razón fue el rápido avance tecnológico, los frutos de los cuales fueron controlados por un pequeño grupo de hombres, la élite que controlaba a la población y su reproducción", explica uno de los autores del estudio, Chris Tyler-Smith.

Al parecer, un monarca desconocido fue uno de los organizadores del nuevo orden en Europa, una sociedad jerárquicamente organizada que sustituyó a las comunidades más autónomas e igualitarias de la Edad de Piedra.