Genetic study also shows long-distance migrations in Neolithic societies

Vienna/Austria, December, 2nd, 2024 – An international research team led by Pere Gelabert and Ron Pinhasi from the University of Vienna and David Reich from Harvard University has presented the most complete set of genetic data to date from the Early Neolithic in Central Europe. The results of the study, which have just been published in Nature Human Behaviour, show that the culture responsible for the spread of agriculture in Central Europe 8,000 years ago showed no signs of social stratification.

The spread of agriculture in Central Europe took place in the sixth millennium BC. Within a few generations, farmers from the Balkan region spread down the Danube valley to present-day France and eastwards to present-day Hungary and Ukraine. Their cultural traces are uniform across this area, stretching for thousands of kilometres – but the lack of genetic data from multiple families makes it difficult to understand whether these communities lived in social equality, or to assess which individuals were the ones who migrated across the continent.

Long-distance travellers

A research team of more than 80 geneticists, anthropologists and archaeologists investigating the social characteristics of the so-called Linear Pottery culture (LBK) has linked new genetic data from more than 250 individuals with extensive datasets: bone examinations, radiocarbon dating, grave goods and dietary data. The study of the genetic relationships between these Neolithic individuals has shown that the LBK people spread over hundreds of kilometres within a few generations. First author Pere Gelabert from the Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Vienna says: ‘We were able to identify distant relatives in Slovakia and others in western Germany who lived more than 800 kilometres away.’

Lack of social stratification

‘In this study,’ explains corresponding author Ron Pinhasi, ’we report for the first time that the families at the investigated sites of Nitra in Slovakia and Polgár-Ferenci-hát in Hungary did not differ in terms of food consumed, grave goods or origin. This suggests that the inhabitants of these Neolithic sites were not divided by family or biological sex, and we can find no evidence of inequality in terms of differential access to resources or space.’

Brutality in the Stone Age

The LBK culture ended around 5,000 BC, and various hypotheses have since been put forward about its demise. Some assume that it was a time of social and economic crises, often accompanied by episodes of widespread violence. One of the most famous events is the massacre of Asparn-Schletz (Lower Austria), in which over 100 skeletons were recovered from a ditch system. Together with Herxheim (Germany), this site represents one of the largest known accumulations of violently killed individuals during the Early Neolithic, with the skeletons showing signs of violence and multiple fractures. Pere Gelabert comments: ‘Our detailed genetic study of the individuals from Asparn-Schletz has shown that fewer than 10 are genetically related, which refutes the hypothesis that the massacre represents a single population.’ Previous anthropological studies conducted by a team of bioanthropologists led by Maria Teschler-Nicola of the Natural History Museum Vienna had found that there were no young women among the victims, and the new data confirms the absence of relatives. The fact that many children were among the victims allows for many interpretations of this remarkable event of Neolithic violence.

Translated together with DeepL.com

Originalpuplication:

Pere Gelabert, Ron Pinhasi, David Reich et al. Social and genetic diversity in first farmers of central Europe. Nature Human Behaviour.
DOI: 10.1038/s41562-024-02034-z
(https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-024-02034-z)

Bild: Map of the LBK culture and the investigated sites
Illustration from the paper