Tracing the spread of Celtic languages using ancient genomics.

A genome-wide analysis of 4,587 ancient Europeans finds that a westward expansion from eastern central Europe (3200–2800 BP) best fits demographic models for the spread of Celtic-related languages.

• Why it matters: Competing archaeological and linguistic hypotheses disagree on Celtic homelands and dispersal routes, and it is unclear which demographic histories are compatible with those scenarios.
• What they did: The study compared reconstructed demographic histories across Bronze and Iron Age Europe using genome-wide data from 4,587 individuals, testing three movements: Bell Beaker-related Steppe ancestry after ~4400 BP, a southwestern-to-Britain shift (3800–3200 BP), and a Knovíz-Urnfield-related westward expansion (3200–2800 BP).
• The result: While all three movements match parts of proposed models, the eastern central European expansion is argued to be the most parsimonious explanation, narrowing which demographic scenarios plausibly fit Celtic emergence.

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