Late Danubian mitochondrial genomes shed light into the Neolithisation of Central Europe in the 5th millennium BC

Maciej Chyleński,Anna Juras,Janusz Piontek,Edvard Ehler,Arkadiusz Marciniak,Helena Malmström,Miroslawa Dabert,Mattias Jakobsson

doi:10.1186/s12862-017-0924-0

Abstract

BackgroundRecent aDNA studies are progressively focusing on various Neolithic and Hunter - Gatherer (HG) populations, providing arguments in favor of major migrations accompanying European Neolithisation. The major focus was so far on the Linear Pottery Culture (LBK), which introduced the Neolithic way of life in Central Europe in the second half of 6th millennium BC. It is widely agreed that people of this culture were genetically different from local HGs and no genetic exchange is seen between the two groups. From the other hand some degree of resurgence of HGs genetic component is seen in late Neolithic groups belonging to the complex of the Funnel Beaker Cultures (TRB). Less attention is brought to various middle Neolithic cultures belonging to Late Danubian sequence which chronologically fall in between those two abovementioned groups. We suspected that genetic influx from HG to farming communities might have happened in Late Danubian cultures since archaeologists see extensive contacts between those two communities.ResultsHere we address this issue by presenting 5 complete mitochondrial genomes of various late Danubian individuals from modern-day Poland and combining it with available published data. Our data show that Late Danubian cultures are maternally closely related to Funnel Beaker groups instead of culturally similar LBK.ConclusionsWe assume that it is an effect of the presence of individuals belonging to U5 haplogroup both in Late Danubians and the TRB. The U5 haplogroup is thought to be a typical for HGs of Europe and therefore we argue that it is an additional evidence of genetic exchange between farming and HG groups taking place at least as far back as in middle Neolithic, in the Late Danubian communities.

Highlights

Recent Ancient DNA (aDNA) studies are progressively focusing on various Neolithic and Hunter - Gatherer (HG) populations, providing arguments in favor of major migrations accompanying European Neolithisation
The Danubian Neolithic is a sequence of archaeological cultures that emerged around 5600/5500 BC in the Transdanubia region of western Hungary from the preceding Vinca, Starcevo and Köros cultures [1]
The changes are thought by archaeologists, to originate from internal social dynamics of those communities, they allowed for more extensive contacts with HG groups in later period [15]

Summary

Introduction

Recent aDNA studies are progressively focusing on various Neolithic and Hunter - Gatherer (HG) populations, providing arguments in favor of major migrations accompanying European Neolithisation. The second half of 5th millennium BC marks the emergence of the final groups belonging to the Danubian Neolithic, with the Brześć Kujawski Group being the prominent example in the Polish lowlands Archaeologists see these final stages of Linear Pottery cultures as a synthesis of various elements, including those of local HG both in terms of economy and material culture [16]. The TRB is sometimes called Northern Europe’s first autochthonous farming population [17]; the idea is being disputed as early TRB exhibits very few Mesolithic elements in their archaeological record Since it was partially contemporaneous with the LDN sequence, the emergence of the TRB as a result of divergence of linear cultures, strengthened by different interregional contacts, cannot be excluded [13]

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