Researchers report patterns of female mobility during the transition from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age in Europe. Human mobility, including large-scale population replacements, during the Neolithic-Bronze Age transition in Central Europe likely helped spread technological advancements and cultural practices. How specific age and gender groups contributed to such processes remains unclear, however. Corina Knipper and colleagues performed genetic and isotopic analyses of 84 skeletons, dated to around 2500-1650 BC, from seven archaeological sites in Germany's Lech River valley area to examine human mobility during the late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age in Central Europe. Mitochondrial genome data revealed maternal lineage diversification over time, and isotope ratios indicated that the majority of females were nonlocal, having arrived at the sites as adults. Of the nonlocals, only a small subset was identified as males or sub-adults. The mobility patterns persisted for at least 800 years at the sites. Moreover, the authors identified maternal kinship between a late Neolithic male and early Bronze Age female. According to the authors, the results provide evidence of continuing traditions during the Neolithic-Bronze Age transition in Central Europe, and suggest that the movement of female individuals was a key contributor to cultural communication and exchange during the Neolithic-Bronze Age transition in Europe.
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Article #17-06355: "Female exogamy and gene pool diversification at the transition from the Final Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age in central Europe," by Corina Knipper et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Corina Knipper, Curt-Engelhorn Centre Archaeometry, Mannheim, GERMANY; tel: +49-(0)621-2938978, +49-(0)1520-2145336; e-mail: < corina.knipper@cez-archaeometrie.de >; Philipp Stockhammer, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, GERMANY; tel: +49-(0)170-6463031; e-mail: < philipp.stockhammer@lmu.de >; Johannes Krause, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, GERMANY; tel: +49-(0)3641-686-600; e-mail: < krause@shh.mpg.de >
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences