A Predominantly Neolithic Origin for European PaternalLineages

The relative contributions to modern European populations of Paleolithic hunter-gatherers and Neolithic farmers from the
Near East have been intensely debated. Haplogroup R1b1b2 (R-M269) is the commonest European Y-chromosomal lineage,
increasing in frequency from east to west, and carried by 110 million European men. Previous studies suggested a
Paleolithic origin, but here we show that the geographical distribution of its microsatellite diversity is best explained by
spread from a single source in the Near East via Anatolia during the Neolithic. Taken with evidence on the origins of other
haplogroups, this indicates that most European Y chromosomes originate in the Neolithic expansion. This reinterpretation
makes Europe a prime example of how technological and cultural change is linked with the expansion of a Y-chromosomal
lineage, and the contrast of this pattern with that shown by maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA suggests a unique role
for males in the transition.