Biology subjects

Allentoft, M. E.

Publications and source records attributed to Allentoft, M. E..

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Migrations facilitated the cultural diffusion of megaliths in Neolithic Europe

Around 6700 BP (years before present), Neolithic Europe saw the emergence of megalithic monuments in northern France, followed by a rapid spread to the rest of the continent1. However, whether this was driven by the transmission of ideas (cultural diffusion) or the movement of people remains debated. To test whether this spread coincided with population movements, we reconstructed the population history of the European Neolithic ([~]6500-4800 BP) by analysing genomic data from 2963 ancient individuals, including 46 unpublished genomes from megalithic and related contexts. To assess the alternative scenario whereby megaliths spread through contact networks, as expected under cultural diffusion, we integrated archaeological evidence with radiocarbon chronologies to reconstruct past trading networks. We identify northern France, where megaliths first emerged, as a zone of genetic admixture and cultural influence from the two major early Neolithic divisions: the Cardial of the Western Mediterranean and the Linear Pottery traditions of central Europe. From this admixed population, we uncover several migrations associated with the formation of the Funnel Beaker Culture in north-central Europe and the neolithisation of Scandinavia and the British Isles. We find that megaliths were spread exclusively within regions impacted by Cardial-related genetic ancestry, but only in the British Isles and Ireland did their emergence coincide with the time of the migration. The temporal delay between the migrations and the spread of megaliths elsewhere reveals that neither population movements nor cultural diffusion alone fully explains the geospatial distribution of the megalithic tradition. Rather, megaliths diffused across different Neolithic groups whose long-distance trade networks formed in the wake of earlier population movements. Our findings highlight the need to move beyond simplistic interpretations that present migrations or cultural diffusion as isolated events bringing technological and cultural innovations.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2024

Targeting terrestrial vertebrates with eDNA: Trends, perspectives, and considerations for sampling

Terrestrial vertebrates are experiencing worldwide population declines and species extinctions. To effectively conserve remaining populations and species, rapid, cost effective and scalable methods are needed to complement longstanding monitoring methods. Increasingly, environmental DNA (eDNA) based approaches are being used for terrestrial vertebrate biomonitoring within a range of environments. However, as we move eDNA biomonitoring onto land, we are presented with a new set of challenges. This necessitates the development of "best-practice" eDNA sample collection guidelines for terrestrial systems with the purpose of detecting terrestrial vertebrates. To address these needs we conducted a systematic literature review of 143 peer-reviewed papers applying eDNA to terrestrial vertebrate monitoring (excluding Lissamphibia) that were published between 2012 and 2023. We summarize the use of eDNA for terrestrial vertebrate biomonitoring, focusing on study design and field techniques. Over the decade we observe a steady growth in the annual number of publications, with 3 in 2012 and 33 in 2023. The majority of the reviewed studies targeted terrestrial mammals within temperate forest regions. While an equal number of studies focused on a metabarcoding approach to assess community taxon composition and/or species-specific eDNA detection methods, novel uses are increasingly published. These include studies of animal behaviour and population genetics. We record three types of sampling strategies, eight different substrate types and seven different preservation methods, suggesting there is no "one size fits all" eDNA based sampling methodology when detecting terrestrial vertebrates. With a multitude of study aims, across different environments, and target organisms with different ecologies, the standardization of eDNA sampling approaches in terrestrial systems is extremely challenging. We summarize in a table known factors influencing eDNA detection within terrestrial environments. Furthermore, we identify five key considerations to be addressed when sampling for eDNA studies targeting terrestrial vertebrate species, with the aim of guiding decision making.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2024

Metazoan diversity in Chilean hypersaline lakes unveiled by environmental DNA

Saline and hypersaline wetlands are biodiversity hotspots for metazoans such as aquatic invertebrates and wading birds. However, the survival of these habitats and their biota is increasingly threatened by a combination of pressures from climate change and extractive processes, jeopardizing the long-term ecological functioning of these ecosystems. With the goal of improving conservation efforts through state-of-the-art survey techniques in hypersaline ecosystems, this study tests the use of environmental DNA (eDNA) methods for metazoan biomonitoring. We employed a multi-assay approach utilizing three genetic markers--12S rRNA, 18S rRNA, and COI --to analyze biodiversity in two types of environmental substrates, sediment and water. These samples were collected from three hypersaline lakes situated at high altitude in Northern Chile: Salar de Atacama (Laguna Puilar), Salar de Pujsa, and Salar de Tara. In addition, we compared the eDNA outputs with results generated from aquatic macroinvertebrate assessments using kick-nets to evaluate the potential for complementary sampling approaches. Our eDNA analyses revealed a total of 21 and 22 taxa across the three hypersaline lakes in sediment and water, respectively. Within both substrates, the highest diversity was found in Salar de Tara (15 taxa within sediment and 13 taxa from water). Our multi-assay design was able to detect a range of resident hypersaline taxa with different conservation status, spanning from rotifers (Encentrum) to endangered snails (Heleobia atacamensis), to amphipods (Hyalella) and flamingos (Pheonicopterus). Macroinvertebrate presence/absence data derived from conventional kick-net surveys further validated Salar de Tara as the most biodiverse system. Compared to net-based assessments, eDNA analysis allowed more refined taxonomic assignments for copepods and ostracods, while certain taxa such as Ephydridae or Hirudinea were not detected through molecular tests. Overall, this study provides evidence that eDNA is an effective tool to elucidate fine scale taxa assemblages and can refine conservation efforts in hypersaline lakes. Given the fast pace of research developments in the field of molecular ecology, eDNA hosts great potential to become a central actor in hypersaline bioassessments in the near future.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2024

Steppe Ancestry in western Eurasia and the spread of the Germanic Languages

Today, Germanic languages, including German, English, Frisian, Dutch and the Nordic languages, are widely spoken in northwest Europe. However, key aspects of the assumed arrival and diversification of this linguistic group remain contentious1-3. By adding 712 new ancient human genomes we find an archaeologically elusive population entering Sweden from the Baltic region by around 4000 BP. This population became widespread throughout Scandinavia by 3500 BP, matching the contemporaneous distribution of Palaeo-Germanic, the Bronze Age predecessor of Proto-Germanic4-6. These Baltic immigrants thus offer a new potential vector for the first Germanic speakers to arrive in Scandinavia, some 800 years later than traditionally assumed7-12. Following the disintegration of Proto-Germanic13-16, we find by 1650 BP a southward push from Southern Scandinavia into presumed Celtic-speaking areas, including Germany, Poland and the Netherlands. During the Migration Period (1575-1375 BP), we see this ancestry representing West Germanic Anglo-Saxons in Britain, and Langobards in southern Europe. We find a related large-scale northward migration into Denmark and South Sweden corresponding with historically attested Danes and the expansion of Old Norse. These movements have direct implications for multiple linguistic hypotheses. Our findings show the power of combining genomics with historical linguistics and archaeology in creating a unified, integrated model for the emergence, spread and diversification of a linguistic group.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2023

The landscape of ancient human pathogens in Eurasia from the Stone Age to historical times

Infectious diseases have had devastating impacts on human populations throughout history, but important questions about their origins and past dynamics remain1. To create the first archaeogenetic-based spatiotemporal map of human pathogens, we screened shotgun sequencing data from 1,313 ancient humans covering 37,000 years of Eurasian history. We demonstrate the widespread presence of ancient bacterial, viral and parasite DNA, identifying 5,486 individual hits against 492 species from 136 genera. Among those hits, 3,384 involve known human pathogens2, many of which were detected for the first time in ancient human remains. Grouping the ancient microbial species according to their likely reservoir and type of transmission, we find that most groups are identified throughout the entire sampling period. Intriguingly, zoonotic pathogens are only detected [~]6,500 years ago, peaking [~]5,000 years ago, coinciding with the widespread domestication of livestock3. Our findings provide the first direct evidence that this lifestyle change resulted in an increased infectious disease burden. Importantly, they also suggest that the spread of these pathogens increased substantially during subsequent millenia, coinciding with the pastoralist migrations from the Eurasian Steppe4,5.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2022

Genetic risk for Multiple Sclerosis originated in Pastoralist Steppe populations

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a modern neuro-inflammatory and -degenerative disease, which is most prevalent in Northern Europe. Whilst it is known that inherited risk to MS is located within or within close proximity to immune genes, it is unknown when, where and how this genetic risk originated 1. By using the largest ancient genome dataset from the Stone Age 2, along with new Medieval and post-Medieval genomes, we show that many of the genetic risk variants for MS rose to higher frequency among pastoralists located on the Pontic Steppe, and were brought into Europe by the Yamnaya-related migration approximately 5,000 years ago. We further show that these MS-associated immunogenetic variants underwent positive selection both within the Steppe population, and later in Europe, likely driven by pathogenic challenges coinciding with dietary, lifestyle, and population density changes. This study highlights the critical importance of this period as a determinant of modern immune responses and its subsequent impact on the risk of developing MS in a changing environment.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2022

The Selection Landscape and Genetic Legacy of Ancient Eurasians

The Holocene (beginning [~]12,000 years ago) encompassed some of the most significant changes in human evolution, with far-reaching consequences for the dietary, physical, and mental health of present-day populations. Using a dataset of >1600 imputed ancient genomes 1, we modelled the selection landscape during the transition from hunting and gathering, to farming and pastoralism across West Eurasia. We identify major selection signals related to metabolism, including that selection at the FADS cluster began earlier than previously reported, and that selection near the LCT locus predates the emergence of the lactase persistence allele by thousands of years. We also find strong selection in the HLA region, possibly due to increased exposure to pathogens during the Bronze Age. Using ancient individuals to infer local ancestry tracts in >400,000 samples from the UK Biobank, we identify widespread differences in the distribution of Mesolithic, Neolithic, and Bronze Age ancestries across Eurasia. By calculating ancestry-specific polygenic risk scores, we show that height differences between Northern and Southern Europe are associated with differential Steppe ancestry, rather than selection, and that risk alleles for mood-related phenotypes are enriched for Neolithic farmer ancestry, while risk alleles for diabetes and Alzheimers disease are enriched for Western Hunter-gatherer ancestry. Our results suggest that ancient selection and migration were major contributors to the distribution of phenotypic diversity in present-day Europeans.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2022

Imputation of ancient genomes

Due to postmortem DNA degradation, most ancient genomes sequenced to date have low depth of coverage, preventing the true underlying genotypes from being recovered. Genotype imputation has been put forward to improve genotyping accuracy for low-coverage genomes. However, it is unknown to what extent imputation of ancient genomes produces accurate genotypes and whether imputation introduces bias to downstream analyses. To address these questions, we downsampled 43 ancient genomes, 42 of which are high-coverage (above 10x) and three constitute a trio (mother, father and son), from different times and continents to simulate data with coverage in the range of 0.1x-2.0x and imputed these using state-of-the-art methods and reference panels. We assessed imputation accuracy across ancestries and depths of coverage. We found that ancient and modern DNA imputation accuracies were comparable. We imputed most of the 42 high-coverage genomes downsampled to 1x with low error rates (below 5%) and estimated higher error rates for African genomes, which are underrepresented in the reference panel. We used the ancient trio data to validate imputation and phasing results using an orthogonal approach based on Mendels rules of inheritance. This resulted in imputation and switch error rates of 1.9% and 2.0%, respectively, for 1x genomes. We further compared the results of downstream analyses between imputed and high-coverage genomes, notably principal component analysis (PCA), genetic clustering, and runs of homozygosity (ROH). For these three approaches, we observed similar results between imputed and high-coverage genomes using depths of coverage of at least 0.5x, except for African genomes, for which the decreased imputation accuracy impacted ROH estimates. Altogether, these results suggest that, for most populations and depths of coverage as low as 0.5x, imputation is a reliable method with potential to expand and improve ancient DNA studies.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2022

Population Genomics of Stone Age Eurasia

Western Eurasia witnessed several large-scale human migrations during the Holocene1-5. To investigate the cross-continental impacts we shotgun-sequenced 317 primarily Mesolithic and Neolithic genomes from across Northern and Western Eurasia. These were imputed alongside published data to obtain diploid genotypes from >1,600 ancient humans. Our analyses revealed a Great Divide genomic boundary extending from the Black Sea to the Baltic. Mesolithic hunter-gatherers (HGs) were highly genetically differentiated east and west of this zone, and the impact of the neolithisation was equally disparate. Large-scale ancestry shifts occurred in the west as farming was introduced, including near-total replacements of HGs in many areas, whereas no substantial ancestry shifts happened east of the zone during the same period. Similarly, relatedness decreased in the west from the Neolithic transition onwards, while east of the Urals relatedness remained high until [~]4,000 BP, consistent with persistence of localised HG groups. The boundary dissolved when Yamnaya-related ancestry spread across western Eurasia around 5,000 BP resulting in a second major turnover that reached most parts of Europe within a 1,000-year span. The genetic origin and fate of the Yamnaya have remained elusive but we demonstrate that HGs from the Middle Don region contributed ancestry to them. Yamnaya-groups later admixed with individuals associated with the Globular Amphora Culture before expanding into Europe. Similar turnovers occurred in western Siberia, where we report new genomic data from a Neolithic steppe cline spanning the Siberian forest steppe to Lake Baikal. These prehistoric migrations had profound and lasting effects on the genetic diversity of Eurasian populations.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2022

Indigenous peoples in eastern Brazil: insights from 19th century genomes and metagenomes

Although Brazil was inhabited by more than 3,000 Indigenous populations prior to European colonization, todays Indigenous peoples represent less than 1% of Brazils census population. Some of the decimated communities belonged to the so-called "Botocudos" from central-eastern Brazil. These peoples are thought to represent a case of long-standing genetic continuity bearing a strong craniometric resemblance to that of the oldest Indigenous Americans ("Paleoamericans"). Yet, little is known about their origins and genetic relationship to other Native Americans, as only two "Botocudo" genomes have been sequenced so far and those were surprisingly of Polynesian ancestry. To deepen our knowledge on the genomic history of pre-contact Indigenous Americans and the pathogens they were exposed to, we carbon-dated and sequenced 24 ancient Brazilians (including 22 "Botocudos") whose remains were hosted at the National Museum of Rio de Janeiro and recovered prior to the tragic 2018 fire. The resulting genomes depth of coverage ranged from 0.001x to 24x. Their genetic ancestry was found to be Indigenous American without gene flow from external populations such as Europeans, Africans or Polynesians. Unlike Mesoamericans, the "Botocudos" and Amazonians do not seem to have experienced a population expansion once in the Americas. Moreover, remarkably, their genomes exhibit amongst the lowest levels of heterozygosity worldwide and long runs of homozygosity, which could be explained by unique social practices or a very small effective size. Finally, whole genomes of likely ancient pathogens were recovered, including lineages of Human parvovirus B19 that were possibly introduced after the European contact. Significance statementTo better understand the genetic relationship among Indigenous populations in Brazil, we sequenced the genomes of 24 ancient individuals (22 of which labelled as "Botocudos", a term used to describe hunter-gatherer tribes) whose remains were hosted at the Museu Nacional of Rio de Janeiro prior to the tragic fire that consumed it in 2018. Unlike two previously published "Botocudo" genomes, the 22 "Botocudos" from this study have Indigenous American-related ancestry without any Polynesian-related ancestry, and they are similarly related to several Native Brazilian populations. Finally, unlike Eurasian hunter-gatherers, the "Botocudos" exhibit among the lowest heterozygosity and longest runs of homozygosity worldwide - compatible with a very small effective size and suggesting a unique social structure among hunter-gatherers in the Americas.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2021

Genomic ancestry, diet and microbiomes of Upper Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers from San Teodoro cave (Sicily, Italy)

Recent improvements in the analysis of ancient biomolecules from human remains and associated dental calculus have provided new insights into the prehistoric diet and past genetic diversity of our species. Here we present a "multi-omics" study, integrating genomic and proteomic analyses of two post-Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) individuals from San Teodoro cave (Italy), to reconstruct their lifestyle and the post-LGM resettlement of Europe. Our analyses show genetic homogeneity in Sicily during the Palaeolithic, representing a hitherto unknown Italian genetic lineage within the previously identified "Villabruna cluster". We argue that this lineage took refuge in Italy during the LGM, followed by a subsequent spread to central-western Europe. Multi-omics analysis of dental calculus showed a diet rich of animal proteins which is also reflected on the oral microbiome composition. Our results demonstrate the power of using a multi-omics approach in the study of prehistoric human populations.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2021

31,600-year-old human virus genomes support a Pleistocene origin for common childhood infections

The origins of viral pathogens and the age of their association with humans remains largely elusive. To date, there is no direct evidence about the diversity of viral infections in early modern humans pre-dating the Holocene. We recovered two near-complete genomes (5.2X and 0.7X) of human adenovirus C (HAdV-C), as well as low-coverage genomes from four distinct species of human herpesvirus obtained from two 31,630-year-old milk teeth excavated at Yana, in northeastern Siberia. Phylogenetic analysis of the two HAdV-C genomes suggests an evolutionary origin around 700,000 years ago consistent with a common evolutionary history with hominin hosts. Our findings push back the earliest direct molecular evidence for human viral infections by [~]25,000 years, and demonstrate that viral species causing common childhood viral infections today have been in circulation in humans at least since the Pleistocene.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2019

Kinship and social organization in Copper Age Europe. A cross-disciplinary analysis of archaeology, DNA, isotopes, and anthropology from two Bell Beaker cemeteries

We present a high-resolution cross-disciplinary analysis of kinship structure and social institutions in two Late Copper Age Bell Beaker culture cemeteries of South Germany containing 24 and 18 burials, of which 34 provided genetic information. By combining archaeological, anthropological, genetic and isotopic evidence we are able to document the internal kinship and residency structure of the cemeteries and the socially organizing principles of these local communities. The buried individuals represent four to six generations of two family groups, one nuclear family at the Alburg cemetery, and one seemingly more extended at Irlbach. While likely monogamous, they practiced exogamy, as six out of eight non-locals are women. Maternal genetic diversity is high with 23 different mitochondrial haplotypes from 34 individuals, whereas all males belong to one single Y-chromosome haplogroup without any detectable contribution from Y-chromosomes typical of the farmers who had been the sole inhabitants of the region hundreds of years before. This provides evidence for the society being patrilocal, perhaps as a way of protecting property among the male line, while in-marriage from many different places secured social and political networks and prevented inbreeding. We also find evidence that the communities practiced selection for which of their children (aged 0-14 years) received a proper burial, as buried juveniles were in all but one case boys, suggesting the priority of young males in the cemeteries. This is plausibly linked to the exchange of foster children as part of an expansionist kinship system which is well attested from later Indo-European-speaking cultural groups.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2018

Stone Age \"chewing gum\" yields 5,700 year-old human genome and oral microbiome

We present a complete ancient human genome and oral microbiome sequenced from a piece of resinous \"chewing gum\" recovered from a Stone Age site on the island of Lolland, Denmark, and directly dated to 5,8585,661 cal. BP (GrM13305;5,007{+/-}11). We sequenced the genome to an average depth-of coverage of 2.3x and find that the individual who chewed the resin was female and genetically more closely related to western hunter gatherers from mainland Europe, than hunter gatherers from central Scandinavia. We use imputed genotypes to predict physical characteristics and find that she had dark skin and hair, and blue eyes. Lastly, we also recovered microbial DNA that is characteristic of an oral microbiome and faunal reads that likely associate with diet. The results highlight the potential for this type of sample material as a new source of ancient human and microbial DNA.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2018

The population history of northeastern Siberia since the Pleistocene

Far northeastern Siberia has been occupied by humans for more than 40 thousand years. Yet, owing to a scarcity of early archaeological sites and human remains, its population history and relationship to ancient and modern populations across Eurasia and the Americas are poorly understood. Here, we analyze 34 ancient genome sequences, including two from fragmented milk teeth found at the ~31.6 thousand-year-old (kya) Yana RHS site, the earliest and northernmost Pleistocene human remains found. These genomes reveal complex patterns of past population admixture and replacement events throughout northeastern Siberia, with evidence for at least three large-scale human migrations into the region. The first inhabitants, a previously unknown population of \"Ancient North Siberians\" (ANS), represented by Yana RHS, diverged ~38 kya from Western Eurasians, soon after the latter split from East Asians. Between 20 and 11 kya, the ANS population was largely replaced by peoples with ancestry related to present-day East Asians, giving rise to ancestral Native Americans and \"Ancient Paleosiberians\" (AP), represented by a 9.8 kya skeleton from Kolyma River. AP are closely related to the Siberian ancestors of Native Americans, and ancestral to contemporary communities such as Koryaks and Itelmen. Paleoclimatic modelling shows evidence for a refuge during the last glacial maximum (LGM) in southeastern Beringia, suggesting Beringia as a possible location for the admixture forming both ancestral Native Americans and AP. Between 11 and 4 kya, AP were in turn largely replaced by another group of peoples with ancestry from East Asia, the \"Neosiberians\" from which many contemporary Siberians derive. We detect gene flow events in both directions across the Bering Strait during this time, influencing the genetic composition of Inuit, as well as Na Dene-speaking Northern Native Americans, whose Siberian-related ancestry components is closely related to AP. Our analyses reveal that the population history of northeastern Siberia was highly dynamic throughout the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. The pattern observed in northeastern Siberia, with earlier, once widespread populations being replaced by distinct peoples, seems to have taken place across northern Eurasia, as far west as Scandinavia.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2018

Early Pleistocene enamel proteome sequences from Dmanisi resolve Stephanorhinus phylogeny.

Ancient DNA (aDNA) sequencing has enabled unprecedented reconstruction of speciation, migration, and admixture events for extinct taxa1. Outside the permafrost, however, irreversible aDNA post-mortem degradation2 has so far limited aDNA recovery within the {small tilde}0.5 million years (Ma) time range3. Tandem mass spectrometry (MS)-based collagen type I (COL1) sequencing provides direct access to older biomolecular information4, though with limited phylogenetic use. In the absence of molecular evidence, the speciation of several Early and Middle Pleistocene extinct species remain contentious. In this study, we address the phylogenetic relationships of the Eurasian Pleistocene Rhinocerotidae5-7 using {small tilde}1.77 million years (Ma) old dental enamel proteome sequences of a Stephanorhinus specimen from the Dmanisi archaeological site in Georgia (South Caucasus)8. Molecular phylogenetic analyses place the Dmanisi Stephanorhinus as a sister group to the woolly (Coelodonta antiquitatis) and Mercks rhinoceros (S. kirchbergensis) clade. We show that Coelodonta evolved from an early Stephanorhinus lineage and that this genus includes at least two distinct evolutionary lines. As such, the genus Stephanorhinus is currently paraphyletic and its systematic revision is therefore needed. We demonstrate that Early Pleistocene dental enamel proteome sequencing overcomes the limits of ancient collagen- and aDNA-based phylogenetic inference, and also provides additional information about the sex and taxonomic assignment of the specimens analysed. Dental enamel, the hardest tissue in vertebrates, is highly abundant in the fossil record. Our findings reveal that palaeoproteomic investigation of this material can push biomolecular investigation further back into the Early Pleistocene.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2017

The Beaker Phenomenon And The Genomic Transformation Of Northwest Europe

Bell Beaker pottery spread across western and central Europe beginning around 2750 BCE before disappearing between 2200-1800 BCE. The mechanism of its expansion is a topic of long-standing debate, with support for both cultural diffusion and human migration. We present new genome-wide ancient DNA data from 170 Neolithic, Copper Age and Bronze Age Europeans, including 100 Beaker-associated individuals. In contrast to the Corded Ware Complex, which has previously been identified as arriving in central Europe following migration from the east, we observe limited genetic affinity between Iberian and central European Beaker Complex-associated individuals, and thus exclude migration as a significant mechanism of spread between these two regions. However, human migration did have an important role in the further dissemination of the Beaker Complex, which we document most clearly in Britain using data from 80 newly reported individuals dating to 3900-1200 BCE. British Neolithic farmers were genetically similar to contemporary populations in continental Europe and in particular to Neolithic Iberians, suggesting that a portion of the farmer ancestry in Britain came from the Mediterranean rather than the Danubian route of farming expansion. Beginning with the Beaker period, and continuing through the Bronze Age, all British individuals harboured high proportions of Steppe ancestry and were genetically closely related to Beaker-associated individuals from the Lower Rhine area. We use these observations to show that the spread of the Beaker Complex to Britain was mediated by migration from the continent that replaced >90% of Britains Neolithic gene pool within a few hundred years, continuing the process that brought Steppe ancestry into central and northern Europe 400 years earlier.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2017

Extensive farming in Estonia started through a sex-biased migration from the Steppe

Farming-based economies appear relatively late in Northeast Europe and the extent to which they involve genetic ancestry change is still poorly understood. Here we present the analyses of low coverage whole genome sequence data from five hunter-gatherers and five farmers of Estonia dated to 4,500 to 6,300 years before present. We find evidence of significant differences between the two groups in the composition of autosomal as well as mtDNA, X and Y chromosome ancestries. We find that Estonian hunter-gatherers of Comb Ceramic Culture are closest to Eastern hunter-gatherers. The Estonian first farmers of Corded Ware Culture show high similarity in their autosomes with Steppe Belt Late Neolithic/Bronze Age individuals, Caucasus hunter-gatherers and Iranian farmers while their X chromosomes are most closely related with the European Early Farmers of Anatolian descent. These findings suggest that the shift to intensive cultivation and animal husbandry in Estonia was triggered by the arrival of new people with predominantly Steppe ancestry, but whose ancestors had undergone sex-specific admixture with early farmers with Anatolian ancestry.

evolutionary biology↗