Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com – Researchers have utilized ancient DNA to uncover that hunter-gatherer populations in a specific region of Europe—spanning present-day Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands—persisted for thousands of years longer than elsewhere on the continent.
Map indicating hunter-gatherer ancestry proportions across Europe 4500–2500 BCE. Credit: University of Huddersfield
This discovery also highlights the significant role women played in this extended survival. The findings come from an international collaboration between geneticists and archaeologists who analyzed complete human genomes from individuals living in this area between 8500 and 1700 BCE.
This period was a critical chapter in European prehistory, marked by major population movements and cultural transformations that shaped the genetic landscape of modern Europeans. Prior to established national borders, people migrated freely across vast distances. These migrations brought together genetically distinct groups, resulting in not only new genetic combinations but also the introduction of diverse languages, cultures, and lifestyles.
As a result of these profound changes, nearly all contemporary European populations carry evidence of three main ancestral components: one from local hunter-gatherers; another introduced by Neolithic farmers migrating from the Near East; and a third associated with pastoralist groups originating from Russia.
The study indicates that the introduction of farming to the region around 4500 BCE did not lead to a significant genetic transformation, unlike what was observed in much of Europe. Instead, local hunter-gatherer communities gradually adopted certain farming practices, with only limited genetic influence from incoming farmers.
Reconstruction of a Bell Beaker burial. Credit: Miguel Hermoso Cuesta – CC BY-SA 4.0
Genomic evidence from the study highlights that this exchange primarily occurred through women who married into local groups, bringing both agricultural knowledge and their genetic heritage. This pattern was mainly observed in riverine wetlands and coastal areas. The abundance of natural resources in these environments enabled local populations to selectively incorporate aspects of farming while maintaining many traditional hunter-gatherer customs and genetic traits.
Hunter-gatherer ancestry remained prevalent throughout the region that is now Belgium and the Netherlands until the end of the Neolithic period, around 2500 BCE. At this point, new populations migrated into Europe and integrated extensively with local communities. This significant admixture caused the genetic profile of the area to become more closely aligned with those of neighboring regions.
“We expected a clear change between the older hunter-gatherer populations and the newer agriculturalists, but apparently in the lowlands and along the rivers of the Netherlands and Belgium, the change was less immediate. It’s like a Waterworld where time stood still,” paleoecologist Professor John Stewart at Bournemouth University said in a press release.
“Ancient DNA studies often bring to light unexpected pages of our past. We might anticipate finding the unexpected when analyzing samples from unexplored or peripheral regions of the globe. But here we are looking at the heartland of Europe, making these results even more striking. It’s a testament to the power of ancient DNA studies that findings like these can still surprise us.
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This study has also brought to light the crucial role played by women in the transmission of knowledge from the incoming farming communities to the local hunter-gatherers. Thanks to ancient DNA studies, we can not only uncover the past but also give voice to the invaluable but often overlooked role played by women in shaping human evolution,” Dr. Maria Pala, member of the Archaeogenetics Research Group within the School of Applied Sciences said.
The study was published in NatureÂ
Written by Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com Staff Writer
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