100 ancient genomes show repeated population turnovers in Neolithic Denmark

Summary, in English

Major migration events in Holocene Eurasia have been characterized genetically at broad regional scales^1–4. However, insights into the population dynamics in the contact zones are hampered by a lack of ancient genomic data sampled at high spatiotemporal resolution^5–7. Here, to address this, we analysed shotgun-sequenced genomes from 100 skeletons spanning 7,300 years of the Mesolithic period, Neolithic period and Early Bronze Age in Denmark and integrated these with proxies for diet (¹³C and ¹⁵N content), mobility (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio) and vegetation cover (pollen). We observe that Danish Mesolithic individuals of the Maglemose, Kongemose and Ertebølle cultures form a distinct genetic cluster related to other Western European hunter-gatherers. Despite shifts in material culture they displayed genetic homogeneity from around 10,500 to 5,900 calibrated years before present, when Neolithic farmers with Anatolian-derived ancestry arrived. Although the Neolithic transition was delayed by more than a millennium relative to Central Europe, it was very abrupt and resulted in a population turnover with limited genetic contribution from local hunter-gatherers. The succeeding Neolithic population, associated with the Funnel Beaker culture, persisted for only about 1,000 years before immigrants with eastern Steppe-derived ancestry arrived. This second and equally rapid population replacement gave rise to the Single Grave culture with an ancestry profile more similar to present-day Danes. In our multiproxy dataset, these major demographic events are manifested as parallel shifts in genotype, phenotype, diet and land use.

• Author: Morten E. Allentoft; Martin Sikora; Anders Fischer; Karl Göran Sjögren; Andrés Ingason; Ruairidh Macleod; Anders Rosengren; Bettina Schulz Paulsson; Marie Louise Schjellerup Jørkov; Maria Novosolov; Jesper Stenderup; T. Douglas Price; Morten Fischer Mortensen; Anne Birgitte Nielsen; Mikkel Ulfeldt Hede; Lasse Sørensen; Poul Otto Nielsen; Peter Rasmussen; Theis Zetner Trolle Jensen; Alba Refoyo-Martínez; Evan K. Irving-Pease; William Barrie; Alice Pearson; Bárbara Sousa da Mota; Fabrice Demeter; Rasmus A. Henriksen; Tharsika Vimala; Hugh McColl; Andrew Vaughn; Lasse Vinner; Gabriel Renaud; Aaron Stern; Niels Nørkjær Johannsen; Abigail Daisy Ramsøe; Andrew Joseph Schork; Anthony Ruter; Anne Birgitte Gotfredsen; Bjarne Henning Nielsen; Erik Brinch Petersen; Esben Kannegaard; Jesper Hansen; Kristoffer Buck Pedersen; Lisbeth Pedersen; Lutz Klassen; Morten Meldgaard; Morten Johansen; Otto Christian Uldum; Per Lotz; Per Lysdahl; Pernille Bangsgaard; Peter Vang Petersen; Rikke Maring; Rune Iversen; Sidsel Wåhlin; Søren Anker Sørensen; Søren H. Andersen; Thomas Jørgensen; Niels Lynnerup; Daniel J. Lawson; Simon Rasmussen; Thorfinn Sand Korneliussen; Kurt H. Kjær; Richard Durbin; Rasmus Nielsen; Olivier Delaneau; Thomas Werge; Kristian Kristiansen; Eske Willerslev
• Department/s: Quaternary Sciences; MERGE: ModElling the Regional and Global Earth system; BECC: Biodiversity and Ecosystem services in a Changing Climate
• Publishing year: 2024-01-11
• Language: English
• Pages: 329-337
• Publication/Series: Nature
• Volume: 625
• Issue: 7994
• Links: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06862-3
• Document type: Journal article
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• Topic: Geosciences, Multidisciplinary; Archaeology
• Keywords: Ancient DNA; Pollen analysis
• Status: Published
• ISBN/ISSN/Other: ISSN: 0028-0836