Discovery of the genetic mutation that protects against HIV: it dates back 9,000 years, near the Black Sea. Traces found among the Vikings and ancient peoples tell the story of a migration of "Nordic"-featured populations originating from the Middle East.
A study published in the journal Cell has traced the ancient origin of the rare mutation CCR5 delta 32, which prevents the HIV virus from entering human cells. Those who inherit two copies of this mutation are virtually immune to many variants of HIV. The news was reported by Dario Radley on Archeology News Online Magazine, based on the study Tracing the evolutionary history of the CCR5delta32 deletion via ancient and modern genomes.
The study analyzed DNA dating to the Viking Age (800–1050 AD), finding the CCR5 delta 32 mutation in some Viking individuals. This allowed researchers to reconstruct a genetic transmission line starting from an individual who lived 6,700–9,000 years ago in the Black Sea region to more recent Northern European populations.
The mutation is currently found:
The study disproves the theory that the mutation spread during more recent times, such as during the Black Death or the Viking era: it actually spread between 9,000 and 6,000 years ago (approximately 7,000–4,000 BCE), much earlier.
This data led to the conclusion of at least one single ancestor of today’s Northern peoples, who lived in the Black Sea region thousands of years ago.
As we know, the Black Sea is bordered by Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Russia, and Georgia. Nearby but not coastal are: Moldova, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Iran.
Two territories have been highlighted in bold that spark interest for their very ancient cultures. As we know, these are the lands of Sumer and legendary Troy.
The studies of Enrico Baccarini, excellently summarized in the book “India: The Lost Civilization”, have over the years also focused on the Kalash of Pakistan — a mysterious people due to their unique ethnic and phenotypic traits within their region.
The Kalash are blond, with blue or green eyes — possessing the typical features that today we would define as “Nordic” […]
As noted by Sergio Stocchi […] there is a hypothesis that they are a surviving specimen of the indigenous population, the Aryans. The very same Aryans — bringers of the Vedic religion — who, migrating millennia ago from the Central Asian mountains, descended into the plains of the Indian subcontinent and, mixing with the pre-existing Dravidian peoples, gave rise to the current populations of India.
Dravidians: small and dark-skinned; Aryans: tall, strong, and light-skinned. These are the two ethnic extremes still evident today in India, comparing southern Tamils with northern Punjabis.
India: The Lost Civilization, by Enrico Baccarini
Image credits: Oleksey 88 – Own work
Baccarini’s studies in particular focus on the intriguing hypothesis that part of the Mesopotamian peoples — the Sumerians — came from the territories of India and Pakistan. Over time, they would have mixed with the local Akkadians in culture and customs. Another territory among those mentioned, Turkey, is instead fascinating in terms of research for the incredible site of Baalbek — home to massive megalithic structures — and Göbekli Tepe, a place offering evidence of a great cultural presence dating back at least 11,600 years (approx. 9,600 BCE).
The mutation disables the CCR5 protein, which normally guides immune cells to inflamed areas, making it harder for HIV to infect cells. It has been used in medicine to successfully treat some HIV patients.
The study published in Cell sheds light on the origins of the CCR5 delta 32 mutation and opens new perspectives on ancient human migrations and the transmission of genetic traits over millennia.
The presence of the mutation among individuals who lived between 6,700 and 9,000 years ago (approx. 4,700–7,000 BCE) in the Black Sea region suggests a much older origin for certain cultures than previously believed. The gene is not merely a recent adaptation to medieval epidemics, but a genetic trait dating back to an era of vast migrations.
Connections between “Nordic” traits in regions such as present-day Turkey and Iran, and the phenotypic characteristics of the Kalash people in Pakistan — who may have migrated in ancient times toward what is now Iran — raise new questions about the origins of civilizations like the Sumerian or Vedic ones.
In this sense, genetics proves to be a powerful tool not only for medicine but also for research into lost civilizations. Every DNA sequence can become a thread of Ariadne, guiding us through the labyrinths of the past. Lost World Map will continue to follow these clues, in search of traces left by remote peoples — whose history is written not only in stone, but also in blood.