Lora Iliev
A5065781313- Forensic and Genetic Research
- Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies
- Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies
- Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
- Linguistics and language evolution
- Nutrition, Genetics, and Disease
- Linguistics and Cultural Studies
- Race, Genetics, and Society
- Rangeland Management and Livestock Ecology
Harvard University
2022-2025
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
2022-2024
By sequencing 727 ancient individuals from the Southern Arc (Anatolia and its neighbors in Southeastern Europe West Asia) over 10,000 years, we contextualize Chalcolithic period Bronze Age (about 5000 to 1000 BCE), when extensive gene flow entangled it with Eurasian steppe. Two streams of migration transmitted Caucasus Anatolian/Levantine ancestry northward, Yamnaya pastoralists, formed on steppe, then spread southward into Balkans across Armenia, where they left numerous patrilineal...
Literary and archaeological sources have preserved a rich history of Southern Europe West Asia since the Bronze Age that can be complemented by genetics. Mycenaean period elites in Greece did not differ from general population included both people with some steppe ancestry others, like Griffin Warrior, without it. Similarly, central area Urartian Kingdom around Lake Van lacked characteristic kingdom's northern provinces. Anatolia exhibited extraordinary continuity down to Roman Byzantine...
The Yamnaya archaeological complex appeared around 3300BCE across the steppes north of Black and Caspian Seas, by 3000BCE reached its maximal extent from Hungary in west to Kazakhstan east. To localize ancestral geographical origins among diverse Eneolithic people that preceded them, we studied ancient DNA data 428 individuals which 299 are reported for first time, demonstrating three previously unknown genetic clines. First, a “Caucasus-Lower Volga” (CLV) Cline suffused with Caucasus...
The first phase of the ancient DNA revolution painted a broad-brush picture European Holocene prehistory, whereby 6500-4000 BCE, farmers descending from western Anatolians mixed with local hunter-gatherers resulting in 70-100% ancestry turnover, then 3000-2500 BCE people associated Corded Ware complex spread steppe into north-central Europe. We document an exception to this pattern wider Rhine-Meuse area communities wetlands, riverine areas, and coastal areas central Netherlands, Belgium...
The north Black Sea (Pontic) Region was the nexus of farmers Old Europe and foragers pastoralists Eurasian steppe 1,2 , source waves migrants that expanded deep into 3–5 . We report genome-wide data from 78 prehistoric North Pontic individuals to understand genetic makeup people involved in these migrations discover reasons for their success. First, we show native had ancestry not only Balkan Eastern hunter-gatherers 6 but also European and, occasionally, Caucasus hunter-gatherers. More...