All Europeans are Belgians

All Europeans descent from Belgium, a new study suggests. An ancient DNA (genome) study suggests Europeans trace their origins from ice age Belgium. “The ability to obtain genome-scale data from ancient bones is a new technology that’s only been around for the last five or six years” said David Reich of the Harvard Medical School. Another significant factor in the study was 51 samples of European moderns humans aged 45,000 to 7,000 years old from across Europe. That is the biggest study of its kind. The study estimates that the first humans entered Europe approximately 45,000 years ago, eliminating the Neanderthals. Using the genome technique, all populations that lived 37,000 years ago seem to have come from a region that is today called Belgium. These “original people” were in time displaced by successive migratory waves, triggered by climate change. Their displacement meant they, in turn, migrated to across Europe. The study traces their common origin, hence one could say that all Europeans have a Belgian ancestor. The study was published by Nature, on May 2nd, and suggests there are three major European migrations towards the end of the Ice Age across Europe. The last ice age peaked 35,000 and 19,000 years ago, coming to an end 12,000 years ago. The change of climate correlates with major migrations. The first migration was from Spain to northern Europe (19,000 years ago). Then, there was a second migratory waves from Turkey and Greece to Northern Europe (14,000 years ago). And then there was a second migratory wave from Greece and Turkey (5,000 ago). Each wave displaced previous generations of Europe’s first humans. Source: New Europe