The largest ever study of global genetic variation in the human Y chromosome has uncovered the hidden history of men. Research reveals explosions in male population numbers in five continents, occurring at times between 55 thousand and four thousand years ago…

The team believes the earlier population increases resulted from the first peopling by modern humans of vast continents, where plenty of resources were available.

The later expansions are more enigmatic.

Dr Chris Tyler-Smith, from the Sanger Institute, added: “The best explanation is that they may have resulted from advances in technology that could be controlled by small groups of men. Wheeled transport, metal working and organised warfare are all candidate explanations that can now be investigated further.”

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Ian said:

The largest ever study of global genetic variation in the human Y chromosome has uncovered the hidden history of men. Research reveals explosions in male population numbers in five continents, occurring at times between 55 thousand and four thousand years ago…

The team believes the earlier population increases resulted from the first peopling by modern humans of vast continents, where plenty of resources were available.

The later expansions are more enigmatic.

Dr Chris Tyler-Smith, from the Sanger Institute, added: “The best explanation is that they may have resulted from advances in technology that could be controlled by small groups of men. Wheeled transport, metal working and organised warfare are all candidate explanations that can now be investigated further.”

More

I think the sciencedaily intern has misunderstood the information.

This isn’t about explosions in the ancient male population.

AsYali Xue says:
“This pattern tells us that there was an explosive increase in the number of men carrying a certain type of Y chromosome, within just a few generations. We only observed this phenomenon in males, and only in a few groups of men.”

What happened was that particular Y chromosomal haplogroups became more dominant quickly. This doesn’t mean the overall number of men increased at all.

>What happened was that particular Y chromosomal haplogroups became more dominant quickly.

Yes. That’s right.

>This doesn’t mean the overall number of men increased at all.

That’s not the way I read it. The one corresponds with the other.

Ian said:

That’s not the way I read it. The one corresponds with the other.

I’m not sure what you mean.

Here, this is how this kind of thing usually works.

The letters below represent Y-DNA-haplogroups, the groups represent, say, families or tribes.

Time zero

AABBBB AEEEFF GHHHHI EFFFGH

After 200 years there has been some elimination of Haplogroups. This will happen just through random breeding but it will happen more rapidly if some individuals can establish their lineage with force.

BBBBBB AEEEEE HHHHHH EFFFFG

Then, after 400 years, someone in that first tribe invents a new technology that enables his people to outcompete other groups or defeat them militarily. Their numbers increase slightly but mostly they are able to subsume other groups, become powerful figures among them, more likely to take brides, or in some cases simply to rape the women as a fairly standard pre-modern war crime.

BBBBBBBB BBBBE BBBBB BBBBFF

There’s been no “male population explosion”. The numbers of certain haplogroups have increased.

Or some group invents some new technology or stumbles onto some rich landscape and there is a male and female population explosion (but of course we are only looking at males) as indicated by the increase
in certain haplogroups.

ALTTBICMOIT