Prior to the explosion of ancient DNA data in 2015, most archaeologists found it inconceivable that the genetic changes associated with the spread of the Yamnaya culture could be as dramatic as the archaeological changes. Even the archaeologist David Anthony, a leading proponent of the idea that the spread of Yamnaya culture was transformative in the history of Eurasia, could not bring himself to suggest that its spread was driven by mass migration. Instead, he proposed that most aspects of Yamnaya culture spread through imitation and proselytization.
