The people of the steppe, who are referred to in the ancient DNA literature as Yamnaya people after the culture they represent, had a genetic signature that was distinct from both the Western Hunter-Gatherers and the Neolithic Anatolian farmers.

The Yamnaya were pastoralists — herders of cattle, horses, and sheep who moved across the steppe with their animals rather than building permanent settlements.

They used horses for transportation, possibly among the first people in the world to do so.

They may have been the first speakers of Proto-Indo-European, the language ancestor of most modern European languages including English, Spanish, French, German, Russian, and many others.

Beginning roughly 5,000 years ago, Yamnaya-related people began moving into Europe from the east.