HOW DID THE YAMNAYA —WHO WERE LATE ARRIVALS— PREVAIL? Reich says: “it is clear that the single most important source of ancestry across northern Europe today is the Yamnaya or groups closely related to them.” (p. 119) But the Yamnaya arrived in northern Europe after many other groups of people had settled there. How could the Yamnaya dislodge them?
Reich points out that before the Yamnaya arrived in the steppe, there is no archaeological evidence of people living in the steppe outside of steppe river valleys—-not enough water for farming or raising livestock. The Yamnaya had the technology to overcome these difficulties—-wheels, horses and wagons. They could bring water and supplies with them. The Yamnaya abandoned village life and lived on the move, leaving only sparse records of settlement.
So basically they were nomads? Is it common for nomads to displace the settled local population? I hadn’t thought so. I was under the impression that farming technology and attitudes led to the rise of the dominant groups in continental Europe. But that was middle school and high school social studies class so I may be misremembering or my information may be horribly outdated.