To best illustrate the dynamics of the genetic landscape in Neolithic Central Europe we animated the genetic distance maps, haplogroup frequencies as well as haplotype diversity through time. The timeline covers 4,500 years of prehistory from the late Mesolithic (~6,000 cal BC) to the end of the Early Bronze Age (2,200 cal BC). The timing is proportional to the time elapsed, i.e. the duration of each cultural period. Events A, B1, B2, C and D mark the genetic changes described in the main text, which are also visible in the alternating genetic affinities on the genetic distance maps (darker colors indicate a greater similarity with the respective Neolithic culture). White arrows summarize the underlying vectors in the form of substantially increasing/decreasing and/or newly arriving haplogroups as observed in the bar graphs at the bottom. Colored symbols on the genetic distance maps indicate the sampling location of the respective data and black dotted lines denote the distribution area of each Mittelelbe-Saale culture. - Farming's Tangled European Roots Science 11 October 2013: Vol. 342 no. 6155 pp. 181-182 DOI: 10.1126/science.342.6155.181 http://www.sciencemag.org/content/342/6155/181.summary News and Analysis: Ancient DNA Revolutions are rarely simple, and that holds true for the so-called Neolithic Revolution in Europe, too, according to two papers published in Science this week. On page 257(1), the largest ancient DNA study on this question shows that farming penetrated Europe in a series of fits and starts, leaving few modern Europeans with the genetic signature of the first farmers. Another paper (2), published online, focuses on a single cave and suggests that farmers and foragers lived side by side for centuries. References 1. Ancient DNA Reveals Key Stages in the Formation of Central European Mitochondrial Genetic Diversity Science 11 October 2013: Vol. 342 no. 6155 pp. 257-261 DOI: 10.1126/science.1241844 http://www.sciencemag.org/content/342/6155/257.abstract Editor's Summary The Origins of Europeans To investigate the genetic origins of modern Europeans, Brandt et al. (p. 257) (1) examined ancient mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and were able to identify genetic differences in 364 Central Europeans spanning the early Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age. Observed changes in mitochondrial haplotypes corresponded with hypothesized human migration across Eurasia and revealed the complexity of the demographic changes and evidence of a Late Neolithic origin for the European mtDNA gene pool. This transect through time reveals four key population events associated with well-known archaeological cultures, which involved genetic influx into Central Europe from various directions at various times. Abstract The processes that shaped modern European mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation remain unclear. The initial peopling by Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers ~42,000 years ago and the immigration of Neolithic farmers into Europe ~8000 years ago appear to have played important roles but do not explain present-day mtDNA diversity. We generated mtDNA profiles of 364 individuals from prehistoric cultures in Central Europe to perform a chronological study, spanning the Early Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age (5500 to 1550 calibrated years before the common era). We used this transect through time to identify four marked shifts in genetic composition during the Neolithic period, revealing a key role for Late Neolithic cultures in shaping modern Central European genetic diversity. (2) 2000 Years of Parallel Societies in Stone Age Central Europe Science October 10 2013 DOI: 10.1126/science.1245049 http://www.sciencemag.org/content/early/2013/10/09/science.1245049 Abstract Debate on the ancestry of Europeans centers on the interplay between Mesolithic foragers and Neolithic farmers. Foragers are generally believed to have disappeared shortly after the arrival of agriculture. To investigate the relation between foragers and farmers, we examined Mesolithic and Neolithic samples from the Blätterhöhle site. Mesolithic mitochondrial DNA sequences were typical of European foragers, whereas the Neolithic sample included additional lineages that are associated with early farmers. However, isotope analyses separate the Neolithic sample into two groups: one with an agriculturalist diet and one with a forager and freshwater fish diet, the latter carrying mitochondrial DNA sequences typical of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers. This indicates that the descendants of Mesolithic people maintained a foraging lifestyle in Central Europe for more than 2000 years after the arrival of farming societies.

• published: 11 Oct 2013
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