Climate shaped how Neolithic farmers and European hunter-gatherers interacted after a major slowdown from 6,100 bce to 4,500 bce

Lia Betti (), Robert M. Beyer (), Eppie R. Jones, Anders Eriksson, Francesca Tassi, Veronika Siska, Michela Leonardi, Pierpaolo Maisano Delser, Lily K. Bentley, Philip R. Nigst, Jay T. Stock, Ron Pinhasi and Andrea Manica ()
Additional contact information
Lia Betti: University of Roehampton
Robert M. Beyer: University of Cambridge
Eppie R. Jones: University of Cambridge
Anders Eriksson: University of Cambridge
Francesca Tassi: University of Ferrara
Veronika Siska: University of Cambridge
Michela Leonardi: University of Cambridge
Pierpaolo Maisano Delser: University of Cambridge
Lily K. Bentley: University of Cambridge
Philip R. Nigst: University of Cambridge
Jay T. Stock: University of Cambridge
Ron Pinhasi: University of Vienna
Andrea Manica: University of Cambridge

Nature Human Behaviour, 2020, vol. 4, issue 10, 1004-1010

Abstract: Abstract The Neolithic transition in Europe was driven by the rapid dispersal of Near Eastern farmers who, over a period of 3,500 years, brought food production to the furthest corners of the continent. However, this wave of expansion was far from homogeneous, and climatic factors may have driven a marked slowdown observed at higher latitudes. Here, we test this hypothesis by assembling a large database of archaeological dates of first arrival of farming to quantify the expansion dynamics. We identify four axes of expansion and observe a slowdown along three axes when crossing the same climatic threshold. This threshold reflects the quality of the growing season, suggesting that Near Eastern crops might have struggled under more challenging climatic conditions. This same threshold also predicts the mixing of farmers and hunter-gatherers as estimated from ancient DNA, suggesting that unreliable yields in these regions might have favoured the contact between the two groups.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41562-020-0897-7

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