Localizing the genomes of Yiddish speakers to primeval villages using the Geographic Population Structure (GPS) tool

The search for a method that utilizes biological information to predict humans' place of origin has occupied scientists for millennia. Over the past four decades, scientists have employed genetic data to address this question with limited success. Biogeographical algorithms using next-generation sequencing data achieved an accuracy of 700 km in Europe but were inaccurate elsewhere. In 2014, we published the Geographic Population Structure (GPS) algorithm and demonstrate its applicability
by predicting the origin of worldwide-individuals and Sardinian villagers with extreme accuracy. To further illustrate the accuracy of GPS, we applied it to decipher the mysterious origin of Yiddish speakers whose language is over one thousand years old. The popular view claims a German origin for Yiddish, whereas the opposing view posits a Slavic origin with strong Iranian and weak Turkic substrata. Applying GPS to the genomes of Yiddish speaking Ashkenazic Jews localized them along major primeval trade routes, with half positioned in northeastern Turkey adjacent to primeval villages, some of whose names may be derived from "Ashkenaz", and the remaining along the northern shores of the Black Sea. Our results posit that Yiddish was created by Irano-Turko-Slavic Jewish merchants along the Silk Roads as a cryptic trade language and over time acquired a significant genuine and invented Hebrew component. These results underscore the premise of GPS to promote research in the fields of population genetics, history, and health.