Here’s a reminder about one of the most important results of the past fourteen years of ancient DNA research.
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@tokeriis @NatureMC @mrundkvist
Possible, but not yet scientific consensus. The paper got a critical reply and the authors wrote a rebuttal to that reply.
@jk @tokeriis @mrundkvist Thanks to both of you for the informations! That's the fascinating part of science: we don't get answers for eternity and it needs more research.
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@NatureMC
The hypothesis is that the plague originated in Central Asia and spread to Europe and that the Western Steppe Herders were slightly resistant to the plague. The plague either killed off so many Europeans that the WSH could move in or spread to Europe because of the migrating WSH. Or maybe both.
@mrundkvist@violanders Thanks. Sounds like a parallel to colonists bringing unknown diseases to indigenous people e.g. in Northern America. @mrundkvist
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@mrundkvist
Neither do I. The origins of Hittites as far as I had read through my interests in the Hittite's journey phenomenon still are a mystery. And I came to those interests by the Code of Nesilim path. We know it is a compilation of civil and criminal law as observed by society then – not a some genius lawmaker's work. It hints at much older culture and we know that this distinct culture had moved in. While the earliest record of the Code of Nesilim dates to the Old Kingdom period about 1650 B.C., its tablets refer to still earlier versions.So I got that fleeing thought about connection between the possible almost-extinction of North Europe’s population and the Hittites’ still unexplained choice of Hattusa locality. Harsh, but not that much for the people accustomed to Northern/Central Europe climate then. There is a ~500y gap, but this gap is to the written records we have, not to the Hittites people moving in a new area.
@ohir
The Corded Ware folks about 2800 would have been absolutely mystified by urban, literate Hittite society.
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@jk @tokeriis @mrundkvist Thanks to both of you for the informations! That's the fascinating part of science: we don't get answers for eternity and it needs more research.
@NatureMC @jk @mrundkvist Indeed, the claim and interpretation are quite significant, so one paper will not be the final say on this.
