Cited by 488Forensic and Genetic ResearchArchaeology and ancient environmental studiesGenetic diversity and population structure

Early farmers from across Europe directly descended from Neolithic Aegeans

Open access
Hofmanová, Zuzana, Kreutzer, Susanne, Hellenthal, Garrett, Sell, Christian, Diekmann, Yoan, Díez-del-Molino, David, van Dorp, Lucy, López, Saioa +31 more·2016·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Published version of a preprint

Abstract

Significance: One of the most enduring and widely debated questions in prehistoric archaeology concerns the origins of Europe’s earliest farmers: Were they the descendants of local hunter-gatherers, or did they migrate from southwestern Asia, where farming began? We recover genome-wide DNA sequences from early farmers on both the European and Asian sides of the Aegean to reveal an unbroken chain of ancestry leading from central and southwestern Europe back to Greece and northwestern Anatolia. Our study provides the coup de grâce to the notion that farming spread into and across Europe via the dissemination of ideas but without, or with only a limited, migration of people.

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Crossref · 10.1073/pnas.1523951113

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  • At least along the Danube route from Anatolia to Central Europe, the first stage of the Neolithic transition occurred through migration of farmers, followed by admixture with local hunter-gatherers in a second stage.

    “At least along the Danube route from Anatolia to Central Europe, paleogenetic analyses have revealed that the first stage of the Neolithic transition occurred through the migration of FAs, followed by admixture with local HGs in a second stage, e.g., (32, 33, 35, 47).”

    From Past human expansions shaped the spatial pattern of Neanderthal ancestry (2023) · cites this paper as [35]

    The Abstract and Concluding Remarks describe migration from the Aegean into Central Europe as central to the spread of farming. The Hunter-Gatherer Admixture section reports that admixture increased into the Middle Neolithic, but also finds low-level admixture in the earliest Neolithic; it does not establish two distinct, sequential stages along the specified route. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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  • During the European Neolithic transition, farmers coming from southeast Europe and Anatolia partially replaced hunter-gatherers.

    “This includes the European Neolithic transition, when farmers coming from southeast Europe and Anatolia partially replaced hunter-gatherers (32–35), as well as the Bronze Age, with the spread of pastoralist populations from Eurasian steppes (36–38).”
  • In Europe, a prominent genetic transition occurred during the spread of early Neolithic farmers, when they partially replaced Paleolithic/Mesolithic hunter-gatherers.

    “In Europe, a prominent genetic transition occurred during the spread of early Neolithic farmers, when they partially replaced Paleolithic/Mesolithic hunter-gatherers [i.e., the so-called Neolithic transition (33, 34, 35)].”

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Cites

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Maniatis Y (2014) Radiocarbon dating of the major cultural changes in Prehistoric Macedonia: Recent developments. 1912-2012. A Century of Research in Prehistoric Macedonia. Proceedings of the International Conference, Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, 22-24 November 2012, eds Stefani E, Merousis N, Dimoula A (Archae- ological Museum of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece), pp 205-222.
  2. Özdo gan M (2010) Westward expansion of the Neolithic way of life: Sorting the Neolithic package into distinct packages. Proceedings of the 6th International Con- gress of the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, eds Matthiae P, Pinnock F, Nigro L, Marchetti N (Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, Germany), Vol 1, pp 883-897.

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Authors
Hofmanová, Z., Kreutzer, S., Hellenthal, G., Sell, C., Diekmann, Y., Díez-del-Molino, D., van Dorp, L., López, S., Kousathanas, A., Link, V., Kirsanow, K., Cassidy, L. M., Martiniano, R., Strobel, M., Scheu, A., Kotsakis, K., Halstead, P., Triantaphyllou, S., Kyparissi-Apostolika, N., Urem-Kotsou, D., Ziota, C., Adaktylou, F., Gopalan, S., Bobo, D. M., Winkelbach, L., Blöcher, J., Unterländer, M., Leuenberger, C., Çilingiroğlu, Ç., Horejs, B., Gerritsen, F., Shennan, S. J., Bradley, D. G., Currat, M., Veeramah, K. R., Wegmann, D., Thomas, M. G., Papageorgopoulou, C., & Burger, J.
Affiliations
  • Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (DE)
  • University College London (GB)
  • Department of Genetics, Evolution, and Environment, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom;
  • SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (CH)
  • Trinity College Dublin (IE)
  • Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (GR)
  • University of Sheffield (GB)
  • Honorary Ephor of Antiquities, Hellenic Ministry of Culture & Sports, 106 82 Athens, Greece;
  • Department of History and Ethnology, Democritus University of Thrace, 69100 Komotini, Greece;
  • Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports (GR)
  • Stony Brook University (US)
  • University of Fribourg (CH)
  • Ege University (TR)
  • Austrian Academy of Sciences (AT)
  • Netherlands Institute in Turkey (TR)
  • University of Geneva (CH)
  • Democritus University of Thrace (GR)
  • Palaeogenetics Group, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, 55099 Mainz, Germany;
Venue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Published
2016-06-06
Volume
113
Issue
25
Pages
6886-6891
ISSN
  • 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
  • 1091-6490
OpenAlex
W2414570345
Cited by
488
References
50
Citations by year
2026: 23 · 2025: 28 · 2024: 37 · 2023: 41 · 2022: 54 · 2021: 60 · 2020: 44 · 2019: 48 · 2018: 58 · 2017: 73 · 2016: 20
FWCI
53.59
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • VU Research Portal (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • Archive ouverte UNIGE (University of Geneva) (publishedVersion)
  • Liverpool John Moores University (submittedVersion)
  • Arrow@dit (Dublin Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion)
  • reroDoc Digital Library (submittedVersion)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
  • White Rose Research Online (University of Leeds, The University of Sheffield, University of York) (submittedVersion)
  • Trinity's Access to Research Output (TARA) (Trinity College Dublin) (submittedVersion)
  • Archive ouverte UNIGE (University of Geneva) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
  • EC | European Research Council (289966, 226506-CP-CSA-INFRA, 295729)
  • Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (BU 1403/6-1, 247/602-1 FUGG)
  • Volkswagen Foundation (87161)
  • Swiss National Science Foundation (31003A_156853, 31003A_149920)
  • Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/L009382/1)
  • King's College London Medical Engineering Centre (EP/F500351/1)
  • Wellcome Trust (098386/Z/12/Z)
  • Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (380-62-005)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Forensic and Genetic Research
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic diversity and population structure
Keywords
Neolithic farmers, ancient DNA, paleogenomics, Anatolia, migration, admixture, hunter-gatherers, Early Holocene, West Asia, genotype calling, genetic continuity
MeSH terms
Agriculture, Anthropology, Europe, Genetics, Population, Humans, Mediterranean Region, Principal Component Analysis

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