Ancient genomes indicate population replacement in Early Neolithic Britain

Selina Brace; Yoan Diekmann; Thomas J. Booth; Lucy van Dorp; Zuzana Faltyskova; Nadin Rohland; Swapan Mallick; Iñigo Olalde; Matthew Ferry; Megan Michel; Jonas Oppenheimer; Nasreen Broomandkhoshbacht; Kristin Stewardson; Rui Martiniano; Susan Walsh; Manfred Kayser; Sophy Charlton; Garrett Hellenthal; Ian Armit; Rick Schulting; Oliver E. Craig; Alison Sheridan; Mike Parker Pearson; Chris Stringer; David Reich; Mark G. Thomas; Ian Barnes

doi:10.1038/s41559-019-0871-9

Ancient genomes indicate population replacement in Early Neolithic Britain

Selina Brace, Yoan Diekmann, Thomas J. Booth, Lucy van Dorp, Zuzana Faltyskova, Nadin Rohland, Swapan Mallick, Iñigo Olalde, Matthew Ferry, Megan Michel, Jonas Oppenheimer, Nasreen Broomandkhoshbacht, Kristin Stewardson, Rui Martiniano, Susan Walsh, Manfred Kayser, Sophy Charlton, Garrett Hellenthal, Ian Armit, Rick SchultingOliver E. Craig, Alison Sheridan, Mike Parker Pearson, Chris Stringer, David Reich, Mark G. Thomas, Ian Barnes^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Archaeology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The roles of migration, admixture and acculturation in the European transition to farming have been debated for over 100 years. Genome-wide ancient DNA studies indicate predominantly Aegean ancestry for continental Neolithic farmers, but also variable admixture with local Mesolithic hunter-gatherers. Neolithic cultures first appear in Britain circa 4000 bc, a millennium after they appeared in adjacent areas of continental Europe. The pattern and process of this delayed British Neolithic transition remain unclear. We assembled genome-wide data from 6 Mesolithic and 67 Neolithic individuals found in Britain, dating 8500–2500 bc. Our analyses reveal persistent genetic affinities between Mesolithic British and Western European hunter-gatherers. We find overwhelming support for agriculture being introduced to Britain by incoming continental farmers, with small, geographically structured levels of hunter-gatherer ancestry. Unlike other European Neolithic populations, we detect no resurgence of hunter-gatherer ancestry at any time during the Neolithic in Britain. Genetic affinities with Iberian Neolithic individuals indicate that British Neolithic people were mostly descended from Aegean farmers who followed the Mediterranean route of dispersal. We also infer considerable variation in pigmentation levels in Europe by circa 6000 bc.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	765-771
Number of pages	7
Journal	Nature Ecology and Evolution
Volume	3
Issue number	5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-019-0871-9
Publication status	Published - 15 Apr 2019

Bibliographical note

© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited 2019. This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. Further copying may not be permitted; contact the publisher for details.

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http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10073386

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Brace, S., Diekmann, Y., Booth, T. J., van Dorp, L., Faltyskova, Z., Rohland, N., Mallick, S., Olalde, I., Ferry, M., Michel, M., Oppenheimer, J., Broomandkhoshbacht, N., Stewardson, K., Martiniano, R., Walsh, S., Kayser, M., Charlton, S., Hellenthal, G., Armit, I., ... Barnes, I. (2019). Ancient genomes indicate population replacement in Early Neolithic Britain. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 3(5), 765-771. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-019-0871-9

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title = "Ancient genomes indicate population replacement in Early Neolithic Britain",

abstract = "The roles of migration, admixture and acculturation in the European transition to farming have been debated for over 100 years. Genome-wide ancient DNA studies indicate predominantly Aegean ancestry for continental Neolithic farmers, but also variable admixture with local Mesolithic hunter-gatherers. Neolithic cultures first appear in Britain circa 4000 bc, a millennium after they appeared in adjacent areas of continental Europe. The pattern and process of this delayed British Neolithic transition remain unclear. We assembled genome-wide data from 6 Mesolithic and 67 Neolithic individuals found in Britain, dating 8500–2500 bc. Our analyses reveal persistent genetic affinities between Mesolithic British and Western European hunter-gatherers. We find overwhelming support for agriculture being introduced to Britain by incoming continental farmers, with small, geographically structured levels of hunter-gatherer ancestry. Unlike other European Neolithic populations, we detect no resurgence of hunter-gatherer ancestry at any time during the Neolithic in Britain. Genetic affinities with Iberian Neolithic individuals indicate that British Neolithic people were mostly descended from Aegean farmers who followed the Mediterranean route of dispersal. We also infer considerable variation in pigmentation levels in Europe by circa 6000 bc.",

author = "Selina Brace and Yoan Diekmann and Booth, {Thomas J.} and {van Dorp}, Lucy and Zuzana Faltyskova and Nadin Rohland and Swapan Mallick and I{\~n}igo Olalde and Matthew Ferry and Megan Michel and Jonas Oppenheimer and Nasreen Broomandkhoshbacht and Kristin Stewardson and Rui Martiniano and Susan Walsh and Manfred Kayser and Sophy Charlton and Garrett Hellenthal and Ian Armit and Rick Schulting and Craig, {Oliver E.} and Alison Sheridan and {Parker Pearson}, Mike and Chris Stringer and David Reich and Thomas, {Mark G.} and Ian Barnes",

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Brace, S, Diekmann, Y, Booth, TJ, van Dorp, L, Faltyskova, Z, Rohland, N, Mallick, S, Olalde, I, Ferry, M, Michel, M, Oppenheimer, J, Broomandkhoshbacht, N, Stewardson, K, Martiniano, R, Walsh, S, Kayser, M, Charlton, S, Hellenthal, G, Armit, I, Schulting, R, Craig, OE, Sheridan, A, Parker Pearson, M, Stringer, C, Reich, D, Thomas, MG & Barnes, I 2019, 'Ancient genomes indicate population replacement in Early Neolithic Britain', Nature Ecology and Evolution, vol. 3, no. 5, pp. 765-771. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-019-0871-9

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AU - Brace, Selina

AU - Diekmann, Yoan

AU - Booth, Thomas J.

AU - van Dorp, Lucy

AU - Faltyskova, Zuzana

AU - Rohland, Nadin

AU - Mallick, Swapan

AU - Olalde, Iñigo

AU - Ferry, Matthew

AU - Michel, Megan

AU - Oppenheimer, Jonas

AU - Broomandkhoshbacht, Nasreen

AU - Stewardson, Kristin

AU - Martiniano, Rui

AU - Walsh, Susan

AU - Kayser, Manfred

AU - Charlton, Sophy

AU - Hellenthal, Garrett

AU - Armit, Ian

AU - Schulting, Rick

AU - Craig, Oliver E.

AU - Sheridan, Alison

AU - Parker Pearson, Mike

AU - Stringer, Chris

AU - Reich, David

AU - Thomas, Mark G.

AU - Barnes, Ian

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N2 - The roles of migration, admixture and acculturation in the European transition to farming have been debated for over 100 years. Genome-wide ancient DNA studies indicate predominantly Aegean ancestry for continental Neolithic farmers, but also variable admixture with local Mesolithic hunter-gatherers. Neolithic cultures first appear in Britain circa 4000 bc, a millennium after they appeared in adjacent areas of continental Europe. The pattern and process of this delayed British Neolithic transition remain unclear. We assembled genome-wide data from 6 Mesolithic and 67 Neolithic individuals found in Britain, dating 8500–2500 bc. Our analyses reveal persistent genetic affinities between Mesolithic British and Western European hunter-gatherers. We find overwhelming support for agriculture being introduced to Britain by incoming continental farmers, with small, geographically structured levels of hunter-gatherer ancestry. Unlike other European Neolithic populations, we detect no resurgence of hunter-gatherer ancestry at any time during the Neolithic in Britain. Genetic affinities with Iberian Neolithic individuals indicate that British Neolithic people were mostly descended from Aegean farmers who followed the Mediterranean route of dispersal. We also infer considerable variation in pigmentation levels in Europe by circa 6000 bc.

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Ancient genomes indicate population replacement in Early Neolithic Britain

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