Half of all males in Western Europe 'descended from one man'
Genetic study of 1,200 men traces their family tree back to powerful Bronze Age 'king'

Half of all males in Western Europe are descended from one man, a Bronze Age "king" who lived 4,000 years ago, a new study by genetic scientists claims.
The monarch is believed to be one of the earliest people to take power in Europe following the Stone Age.
According to the Daily Telegraph, it is likely he was able to wield great power due to his control of new technologies such as wheeled transport, which led to the first examples of organised warfare.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"He was part of a new order which emerged in Europe following the Stone Age," says the paper. "Sweeping away the previous egalitarian Neolithic period and replacing it with hierarchical societies which were ruled by a powerful elite."
Although it is not known who the king was, the scientists say he must have existed because of genetic variation in today's European populations
Dr Chris Tyler-Smith, who led the study, which has been published in the Nature Genetics Journal, told the Telegraph: "In Europe there was huge population expansion in just a few generations. Genetics can't tell us why it happened but we know that a tiny number of elite males were controlling reproduction and dominating the population."
He added: "Half of the Western European population is descended from just one man. We can only speculate as to what happened. The best explanation is that they may have resulted from advances in technology that could be controlled by small groups of men."
The study analysed sequence differences between the Y chromosomes of more than 1,200 men from 26 populations around the world using data generated by the 1000 Genomes Project. As the chromosome is passed down the male line, mutations can reveal how the men are linked, allowing the researchers to go back generations.
The findings also corroborate the theory that all modern humans evolved out of Africa.
"We see an origin of Y lineages in Africa and a massive expansion in Europe and Asia 50,000-55,000 years ago, just after the time when humans are proposed to have migrated out," Dr Tyler-Smith told the Daily Mail.
The data suggests a "gene flow between Africa and nearby regions of Asia, 50,000 to 80,000 years ago" which "supports the theory that people returned and moved around", says the newspaper.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
What should you be stockpiling for 'World War Three'?
In the Spotlight Britons advised to prepare after the EU tells its citizens to have an emergency kit just in case
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Carnivore diet: why people are eating only meat
The Explainer 'Meatfluencers' are taking social media by storm but experts warn meat-only diets have health consequences
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Scientists want to fight malaria by poisoning mosquitoes with human blood
Under the radar Drugging the bugs
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
By Abby Wilson Published
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarray
In the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?
The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Why Serbian protesters set off smoke bombs in parliament
THE EXPLAINER Ongoing anti-corruption protests erupted into full view this week as Serbian protesters threw the country's legislature into chaos
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Who is the Hat Man? 'Shadow people' and sleep paralysis
In Depth 'Sleep demons' have plagued our dreams throughout the centuries, but the explanation could be medical
By The Week Staff Published
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK Published
-
Romania's election rerun
The Explainer Shock result of presidential election has been annulled following allegations of Russian interference
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Russia's shadow war in Europe
Talking Point Steering clear of open conflict, Moscow is slowly ratcheting up the pressure on Nato rivals to see what it can get away with.
By The Week UK Published