Ancient DNA Evidence for a Homogeneous Maternal Gene Pool in Sixth Millennium cal bc Hungary and the Central European LBK

Abstract

Two sixth millennium cal BC cultural formations from the Carpathian Basin are discussed: the Linearbandkeramik (LBK) in Transdanubia, and the Szakálhát culture from the Great Hungarian Plain. Our aim was to address genetic connections between these cultural units and how they were related to the populations of the central European Neolithic. Mitochondrial data from 33 specimens from the Szakálhát culture were compared with 39 samples from the LBK and analysed in the light of previously published ancient DNA studies. The maternal gene pool of the LBK in Transdanubia and the Szakálhát culture are highly similar to each other. Furthermore, both groups show a remarkable affinity to the LBK and the subsequent fifth–fourth millennia cal BC cultures in central Europe. On the other hand, these Neolithic cultural formations can be clearly distinguished from Mesolithic pan-European hunter-gatherer data as well as from published Iberian Neolithic and central European Late Neolithic cultures.