Heterogeneous Hunter-Gatherer and Steppe-Related Ancestries in Late Neolithic and Bell Beaker Genomes from Present-Day France

Andaine Seguin-Orlando (), Richard Donat (), Clio Der Sarkissian (), John Southon, Catherine Thèves (), Claire Manen (), Yaramila Tchérémissinoff, Eric Crubézy, Beth Shapiro, Jean-François Deleuze (), Love Dalen, Jean Guilaine () and Ludovic Orlando ()
Additional contact information
Andaine Seguin-Orlando: IAST - Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse
Richard Donat: CAGT - Centre d'anthropologie et de génomique de Toulouse - UT3 - Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier - UT - Université de Toulouse - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Inrap - Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives
Clio Der Sarkissian: CAGT - Centre d'anthropologie et de génomique de Toulouse - UT3 - Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier - UT - Université de Toulouse - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Catherine Thèves: CAGT - Centre d'anthropologie et de génomique de Toulouse - UT3 - Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier - UT - Université de Toulouse - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Claire Manen: TRACES - Travaux et recherches archéologiques sur les cultures, les espaces et les sociétés - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - UT2J - Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès - UT - Université de Toulouse - MCC - Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication - Inrap - Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Yaramila Tchérémissinoff: LAMPEA - Laboratoire méditerranéen de préhistoire Europe-Afrique - AMU - Aix Marseille Université - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - MC - Ministère de la Culture
Eric Crubézy: CAGT - Centre d'anthropologie et de génomique de Toulouse - UT3 - Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier - UT - Université de Toulouse - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Jean-François Deleuze: JACOB - Institut de Biologie François JACOB - DRF (CEA) - Direction de Recherche Fondamentale (CEA) - CEA - Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives
Jean Guilaine: CdF (institution) - Collège de France
Ludovic Orlando: CAGT - Centre d'anthropologie et de génomique de Toulouse - UT3 - Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier - UT - Université de Toulouse - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

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Abstract: The transition from the Late Neolithic to the Bronze Age has witnessed important population and societal changes in western Europe.1 These include massive genomic contributions of pastoralist herders originating from the Pontic-Caspian steppes2,3 into local populations, resulting from complex interactions between collapsing hunter-gatherers and expanding farmers of Anatolian ancestry.4, 5, 6, 7, 8 This transition is documented through extensive ancient genomic data from present-day Britain,9,10 Ireland,11,12 Iberia,13 Mediterranean islands,14,15 and Germany.8 It remains, however, largely overlooked in France, where most focus has been on the Middle Neolithic (n = 63),8,9,16 with the exception of one Late Neolithic genome sequenced at 0.05× coverage.16 This leaves the key transitional period covering ∼3,400–2,700 cal. years (calibrated years) BCE genetically unsampled and thus the exact time frame of hunter-gatherer persistence and arrival of steppe migrations unknown. To remediate this, we sequenced 24 ancient human genomes from France spanning ∼3,400–1,600 cal. years BCE. This reveals Late Neolithic populations that are genetically diverse and include individuals with dark skin, hair, and eyes. We detect heterogeneous hunter-gatherer ancestries within Late Neolithic communities, reaching up to ∼63.3% in some individuals, and variable genetic contributions of steppe herders in Bell Beaker populations. We provide an estimate as late as ∼3,800 years BCE for the admixture between Neolithic and Mesolithic populations and as early as ∼2,650 years BCE for the arrival of steppe-related ancestry. The genomic heterogeneity characterized underlines the complex history of human interactions even at the local scale.

Keywords: ancient DNA; Late Neolithic; Mesolithic; Bell Beaker; Yamnaya; collective burial; admixture; paleogenomics; methylomeoral microbiome (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021-03-08
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-03150872v1
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Published in Current Biology, 2021, 31 (5), pp.1072-1083.e10. ⟨10.1016/j.cub.2020.12.015⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03150872

DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.12.015

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