In conclusion, our genomic analyses revealed that both the Bronze Age and Iron Age were highly dynamic periods in the Pontic-Caspian steppe. The time span between 1800 BCE and 400 CE was characterized by mobility, population movements, and replacements, which shaped the complex demography of the region through time. Our results showed that the Western Eurasian steppe nomads were not direct descendants of the Bronze Age Srubnaya-Alakulskaya individuals but shared elements of common ancestry with contribution from different peoples. The early nomads could thus be referred to as a “cultural and chronological horizon” represented by various cultures of the Scythian-Siberian world that was not composed of a genetically homogeneous and/or isolated group. Quite the contrary is observed. We observe little evidence of mobility from the Far East, suggesting that the main source of most Western nomads is likely found in eastern Pontic-Caspian steppe and southern Urals. Thus, we propose that the region, similar to the so-called Mongolian steppe generator of peoples during the Middle Ages, served as the generator of the west nomadic peoples that sustained the western nomadic horizon in the Iron Age.
https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/10/eaat4457
