Abstract
The Neolithic period is characterized by major cultural transformations and human migrations, with lasting effects across Europe. To understand the population dynamics in Neolithic Scandinavia and the Baltic Sea area, we investigate the genomes of individuals associated with the Battle Axe Culture (BAC), a Middle Neolithic complex in Scandinavia resembling the continental Corded Ware Culture (CWC). We sequenced 11 individuals (dated to 3330–1665 calibrated before common era (cal BCE)) from modern-day Sweden, Estonia, and Poland to 0.26–3.24× coverage. Three of the individuals were from CWC contexts and two from the central-Swedish BAC burial ‘Bergsgraven’. By analysing these genomes together with the previously published data, we show that the BAC represents a group different from other Neolithic populations in Scandinavia, revealing stratification among cultural groups. Similar to continental CWC, the BAC-associated individuals display ancestry from the Pontic–Caspian steppe herders, as well as smaller components originating from hunter–gatherers and Early Neolithic farmers. Thus, the steppe ancestry seen in these Scandinavian BAC individuals can be explained only by migration into Scandinavia. Furthermore, we highlight the reuse of megalithic tombs of the earlier Funnel Beaker Culture (FBC) by people related to BAC. The BAC groups likely mixed with resident middle Neolithic farmers (e.g. FBC) without substantial contributions from Neolithic foragers.
Highlights
An influential wave of migration into central Europe from the Pontic–Caspian steppe occurred ca 3000 before common era (BCE) [1,2]
To achieve a better understanding of these population dynamics and the Battle Axe Culture (BAC) introduction to Scandinavia, we investigated the demographic development in the Corded Ware Culture (CWC) area around the Baltic Sea, in the third millennium BCE, by sequencing DNA from 11 prehistoric individuals from Sweden, Estonia, and Poland
Our results have implications for our view on the demographic development associated with the CWC in general, and the Scandinavian variety of the BAC
Summary
An influential wave of migration into central Europe from the Pontic–Caspian steppe occurred ca 3000 before common era (BCE) [1,2]. To achieve a better understanding of these population dynamics and the BAC introduction to Scandinavia, we investigated the demographic development in the CWC area around the Baltic Sea, in the third millennium BCE, by sequencing DNA from 11 prehistoric individuals from (modern-day) Sweden, Estonia, and Poland. By comparing the genetic profiles of the newly sequenced individuals to individuals from different regions of the CWC area and from different kinds of cultural contexts, we investigate ancestry and admixture to paint a more detailed picture of the demographic processes that took place across the CWC area, with a specific focus on the onset and subsequent dynamics of the BAC in Scandinavia
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More From: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
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