Extended Data Fig. 11: Schematic diagram of barley crop evolution.

The five colors in the tree on top represent the five wild barley populations (SL, NL, SD, NM and CA as shown in Fig. 1a), and their split times are based on results from Fig. 2e. Arrows correspond to domestication-related genes. The starting point of each arrow marks the estimated time when the domestication mutation emerged (Extended Data Fig. 9d) and from which wild barley population it originated. Note that the tip of the arrow of each arrow is symbolic—it does not represent the exact timing of entry into the founder population. Gene flow—facilitated by human migration or cultural exchange—gave rise to an admixed founder population. As populations of human farmers and their crops expanded outward from the Fertile Crescent, this founder population split into several geographically isolated lineages, each retaining chromosomal segments with diverse wild ancestry. The divergence of domesticated barley from this founder population is referenced from Fig. 5b. The rectangles in the bottom-right part represent chromosomes of four domesticated barley clusters (Near East, Europe, Ethiopia and C & E Asia) divided into windows, with dashed lines separating distal and proximal regions. C & E Asia refers to Central and Eastern Asia domesticated barley population. The cyan-colored rectangles indicate recent (<8 ka BP) gene flow from wild to domesticated barley in regions of sympatry. The timeline at the top shows the chronological sequence of agricultural cultures in the Near East and was adapted from Zeder et al.⁸¹.