100 ancient genomes show repeated population turnovers in Neolithic Denmark

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-MartínezEvan 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

*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

Major migration events in Holocene Eurasia have been characterized genetically at broad regional scales1–4. However, insights into the population dynamics in the contact zones are hampered by a lack of ancient genomic data sampled at high spatiotemporal resolution5–7. 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.

Original languageEnglish
JournalNature
Volume625
Issue number7994
Pages (from-to)329-337
Number of pages9
ISSN0028-0836
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024

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