21/06/2025 - The edges of the Roman Empire were never barren limits. They were dynamic zones of exchange, settlement, and transformation. Thanks to archaeogenetics, we now have the tools to explore these liminal spaces through the DNA of those who lived and died there. Three recent studies—from Valkenburg (South Holland), Sint-Truiden (Belgium), and a broad survey across Europe—offer new insights into the ancestry and mobility of Roman frontier populations. When combined with genetic data from Merovingian-era cemeteries, a fascinating story emerges: one of continuity, integration, and transition.
I. Valkenburg: A Cosmopolitan Outpost
The Roman military cemetery at Valkenburg, explored in the 2024 study by van Duijvenbode et al. (bioRxiv), presents a diverse genetic landscape. Most mal...See more
16/06/2025 - Vahaduo is one of the most powerful online tools to explore your deep ancestry using G25 coordinates — a set of principal components developed by Davidski from the Eurogenes project. In this tutorial, we’ll walk you through how to use Vahaduo to model your ancestry in just a few simple steps.
What You Need Before You Start
Your G25 coordinates (target)
A list of reference samples (sources) in G25 format
Access to Vahaduo
Step 1: Open the Right Vahaduo Tool
Go to https://vahaduo.github.io/vahaduo/.
Step 2: Paste Your Target Coordinates
Here are two examples you can use as target individuals:
Copy to clipboard
individual1_scaled,0.119514,0.111708,0.05242,0.025194,0.026466,0.007251,-0.020446,-0.024461,0.008385,0.006743,-0.000812,0.002398,-0.005798,-0.0035...See more
16/06/2025 - For centuries, the Scythians ruled the vast Eurasian steppe from the Black Sea to the Altai Mountains. Described by Herodotus as fierce and mobile horsemen, they left behind kurgans—impressive burial mounds filled with weapons, gold, and sometimes mummified bodies. But who were the Scythians, genetically speaking? Where did they come from? And were they as homogeneous as classical authors imagined?
Thanks to ancient DNA research, their genetic story is now unfolding—and it reveals a dynamic, diverse, and mobile people shaped by multiple waves of migration across the steppes.
Genetic Clues from Three Key Studies
Gnecchi-Ruscone et al. 2021 (Science Advances): Showed that Iron Age individuals from Kyrgyzstan (Alay Valley) carry mixed Steppe and Iranian-related ancestry.
...See more
09/06/2025 - For centuries, the Phoenicians have been remembered as master sailors, tireless merchants, and skilled craftsmen. Originating from the Levant—roughly modern-day Lebanon—they sailed westward across the Mediterranean from the 9th century BCE, founding coastal cities from Cyprus to Carthage and beyond. But what happened when they settled? Did they remain a distinct people, or did they blend into the genetic fabric of the regions they touched?
Thanks to ancient DNA, we are now closer than ever to answering that question.
Genetic Footprints from the Levant to Iberia
Recent studies have revealed that Phoenician expansion was not simply a cultural diffusion—it also involved real human movement and admixture. In 2018, researchers published a groundbreaking analysis of a Punic ...See more
05/06/2025 - France’s population has undergone profound transformations over the past 9,000 years, shaped by successive waves of migration and admixture. Thanks to advances in paleogenomics, we can now retrace the evolution of genetic ancestries from Mesolithic hunter-gatherers to the early medieval period. This article synthesizes major studies and integrates real ancient samples from multiple phases to provide a clear timeline of France's genetic history.
1. The Mesolithic: Western Hunter-Gatherers (WHG)
Around 7000 BCE, France was inhabited by Western Hunter-Gatherers (WHG), descendants of Paleolithic populations who survived the Last Glacial Maximum. New genomic data highlight the local diversity of this population.
WHG ancestry: ~95% WHG, trace Early European Farmer (EEF)
...See more
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