Max Planck scientists: on a mission against geography

I was just reading the new Marieke van de Loosdrecht et al. 2018 paper [LINK] about the Pleistocene North African hunter-gatherers, and really enjoying it, until I saw this strange map. Please note that I edited the image for the purpose of review and to highlight an error (red pointer and arrow).

This is either a stupid oversight, or the authors of the paper, mainly from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, and also the scientists who peer reviewed it, don’t know where the steppe is located in Eastern Europe. It’s certainly not located anywhere near Karelia, Northern Russia, as the map suggests.
Now, you might say that I’m being nit picky. Well I’m not, because I can see an alarming trend emerging. Here’s a quote from Aida Andrades Valtueña et al. 2017 [LINK], another paper authored mainly by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.

The Baltic Late Neolithic Y. pestis genomes (Gyvakarai1 and KunilaII) were reconstructed from individuals associated with the Corded Ware complex. Along with the Croatian Y. pestis genome (Vucedol complex) these are derived from a common ancestor shared with the Yamnaya-derived RK1001 and Afanasievo-derived RISE509. This supports the notion of the pathogen spreading in the context of the large-scale expansion of steppe peoples from Central Eurasia to Eastern and Central Europe.

Thus, what the authors are claiming is that the Pontic-Caspian steppe, which is where the Yamnaya culture was located, is in Central Eurasia rather than West Eurasia.
Obviously, Eurasia is a landmass made of up two continents: Europe and Asia. Try putting your finger in the middle of a map of Europe and Asia and see whether it lands anywhere near the Pontic-Caspian steppe. It won’t, unless you’ve got the shakes or something, because Central Eurasia is more or less located around the Altai Mountains, between the Kazakh and Mongolian-Manchurian steppes, several thousand miles east of the Pontic-Caspian steppe.
Just another oversight, you might say? I doubt it, because here’s a very similar case from Alissa Mittnik et al. 2018 [LINK], yet another paper authored mainly by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.

Studies of ancient genomes have shown that those associated with the CWC were closely related to the pastoralists of the Yamnaya Culture from the Pontic-Caspian steppe, introducing a genetic component that was not present in Europe previously [2, 3].

Nope, sorry, that doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. Why? Because the Pontic-Caspian steppe is west of the Ural Mountains, therefore it’s in Europe. You see, according to current geographic conventions, Eurasia west of the Urals and north of the Caucasus is Europe. Right or wrong, as things stand, that’s just how it is. And if you happen to be a Max Planck scientist and adamant that I’m wrong, then Google it. I dare you to.
If anyone’s still confused, then here’s a simple guide, in point form, with a very basic, hopefully easy to grasp map:

– the Eurasian steppe is not a continent nor a country, but a geographical and topographical feature, and, indeed, it’s called the Eurasian steppe because it’s located on two continents known separately as Europe and Asia, and together as Eurasia
– the western part of the Eurasian steppe is called the Pontic-Caspian steppe, and it’s firmly located in Eastern Europe
– the central part of the Eurasian steppe is called the Kazakh steppe, and it’s located in Western and Central Asia, while the eastern part of the Eurasian steppe is called the Mongolian-Manchurian steppe, and it’s located in East Central Asia
– the Yamnaya culture or horizon was entirely located within the Pontic-Caspian steppe, and therefore in Europe, and more precisely, in Eastern Europe.

See also…
Matters of geography
The Iberomaurusians

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