A groundbreaking paleogenomics study of Yamnaya culture burials in the Pontic-Caspian steppe has revealed that their society was organized into strict patrilineal clans. DNA analysis of over 100 individuals shows that men remained in their ancestral territories while women migrated from distant groups, facilitating genetic diversity.
This kinship model provides a new framework for understanding the rapid expansion of Indo-European languages across Eurasia. The study also identified a specific genetic marker for lactose tolerance that began to spread widely within these populations during the Bronze Age.