52 min & 90 min

In just twenty generations, the Yamnaya became ancestors to much of today’s European population, contributing up to 50% of the DNA in places like Scandinavia and England. Their expansion also reached Central Asia and as far as northwest India. Long overlooked by history, the Yamnaya’ movement is now being studied through “The Yamnaya Impact on Prehistoric Europe” (YMPACT) led by archaeologist Volker Heyd. This international team of archaeologists, geneticists, linguists, and other specialists is using modern science (especially archaeogenetics) to understand what happened at the dawn of European civilization. Were the Yamnaya violent conquerors or peaceful migrants? Did they bring horses, new technologies, or even diseases? Could they be the forerunners of the Indo-European languages? These questions are finally being explored through a scientific lens, revealing one of the greatest transformations in European prehistory.