Out-of-Anatolia: Cultural and genetic interactions during the Neolithic expansion in the Aegean.
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| Title: | Out-of-Anatolia: Cultural and genetic interactions during the Neolithic expansion in the Aegean. |
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| Authors: | Koptekin, Dilek, Aydoğan, Ayça, Karamurat, Cansu, Altınışık, N. Ezgi, Vural, Kıvılcım Başak, Kazancı, D. Deniz, Doğu, Ayça Küçükakdağ, Kaptan, Damla, Gemici, Hasan Can, Yüncü, Eren, Moots, Hannah M., Umurtak, Gülsün, Duru, Refik, Fidan, Erkan, Çevik, Özlem, Erdoğu, Burçin, Korkut, Taner, Knüsel, Christopher J., Haddow, Scott, Larsen, Clark Spencer |
| Source: | Science. 6/26/2025, Vol. 388 Issue 6754, p1-11. 11p. |
| Subjects: | Archaeological human remains, Fossil DNA, Foraging behavior (Humans), Social structure, Genetic sex determination |
| Abstract: | West Anatolia has been a crucial yet elusive element in the Neolithic expansion from the Fertile Crescent to Europe. In this work, we describe the changing genetic and cultural landscapes of early Holocene West Anatolia using 30 new paleogenomes. We show that Neolithization in West Anatolia was a multifaceted process, characterized by the assimilation of Neolithic practices by local foragers, the influx of eastern populations, and their admixture, with their descendants subsequently establishing Neolithic Southeast Europe. We then coanalyzed genetic and cultural similarities across early Holocene Anatolian and Aegean Neolithic villages using 58 material culture elements. Cultural distances among villages correlate with their spatial distances but not with their genetic distances after controlling for geography. This suggests that cultural change was often decoupled from genetically visible mobility. Editor's summary: Ancient DNA has played an important role in archeological studies in recent years, particularly in assigning chromosomal sex to remains to aid in understanding historic sociological structures. A pair of studies now present an analysis of stable isotopes and skeletal remains from 395 ancient individuals who lived 8000 to 5800 BCE, from whom DNA from 131 individuals could be sequenced (see the Perspective by Arbuckle). Yüncü et al. found that kinship patterns changed over time in this settlement, but individuals from the same houses or nearby ones were primarily related through the maternal line. In a broader geographic sampling, Koptekin et al. describe population dynamics, including the spread of cultural practices without admixture. —Corinne Simonti INTRODUCTION: Neolithic farming cultures first developed in the Fertile Crescent around 10,000 years ago and later spread into Europe through the Aegean. How the Neolithic lifeways emerged in the Aegean, and particularly West Anatolia, has remained unknown, obscured by a lack of human ancient DNA from pre-Neolithic times. RATIONALE: We studied population and cultural history of the Aegean using 30 new paleogenomes, including a 10,000-year-old individual from West Anatolia, combined with 408 published genomes. We also compiled a digitalized material culture that included 54 cultural traits from 16 sites from around 9000 years ago and joined this with 104 genomes from the same sites. This allowed us to reconstruct mobility and cultural change during the Neolithic transition in the Aegean. RESULTS: We found at least 6000 years of genetic continuity in West Anatolia during the early Holocene, before the arrival of farming villages there. During this time, West Anatolians were in cultural exchange with their eastern neighbors from the Fertile Crescent, exploring sedentary lifeways. But these West Anatolians did not genetically mix with their neighbors in this early phase. Things changed around 9000 years ago, when full-scale farming settlements began spreading across the Aegean. Our paleogenomic data show that this did not occur because of waves of migrant farmers from the east creating farming colonies in the Aegean and replacing local foragers. Rather, the transition unfolded as a fusion: Incoming groups of eastern origin joined together and genetically mixed with the descendants of the local foragers in the newly established villages. This was likely a complex process of coexistence and mutual innovation as well as eventual mixing. It further gave rise to the now-famous "Anatolian Farmer" genetic profile, which subsequently spread across the Aegean Sea and later throughout Europe. In this case, admixture with locals appears more limited and sporadic. We further performed a comparative study of cultural and genetic data, asking whether cultural similarities among the 16 Neolithic settlements may be explained by their genetic similarities, which would be expected if culture was shaped by large-scale mobility and admixture history. We found that cultural similarities among villages could simply be explained by their geographic proximity, whereas their population genetic similarities did not have any explanatory power, implying that ideas mixed faster than people in this region. CONCLUSION: The spread of Neolithic cultures in West Eurasia involved distinct mechanisms, from pure cultural adoption to mobility and admixture between incoming farmers and local foragers to rapid migration and spread. Further, cultural similarities among settlements were not shaped by large-scale mobility (as reflected in genetic data) but rather through background mobility. Our results thus challenge the widespread assumption that cultural entities frequently correspond to genetically homogeneous populations, supporting the archaeological adage, "pots don't equal people." Our study presents a fresh look at mechanisms of cultural change during one of humanity's most transformative periods. Diverse pathways to Neolithization and the uncoupling between cultural and genetic interactions in the Aegean.: (Left) Neolithic practices in West Anatolia first started by cultural interactions, followed by mobility and admixture, and, lastly, migration into Europe. (Right) Comparative analysis of cultural and genetic similarity across 16 Neolithic settlements reveals no correlation between cultural and genetic similarities after controlling for geography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
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| Abstract: | West Anatolia has been a crucial yet elusive element in the Neolithic expansion from the Fertile Crescent to Europe. In this work, we describe the changing genetic and cultural landscapes of early Holocene West Anatolia using 30 new paleogenomes. We show that Neolithization in West Anatolia was a multifaceted process, characterized by the assimilation of Neolithic practices by local foragers, the influx of eastern populations, and their admixture, with their descendants subsequently establishing Neolithic Southeast Europe. We then coanalyzed genetic and cultural similarities across early Holocene Anatolian and Aegean Neolithic villages using 58 material culture elements. Cultural distances among villages correlate with their spatial distances but not with their genetic distances after controlling for geography. This suggests that cultural change was often decoupled from genetically visible mobility. Editor's summary: Ancient DNA has played an important role in archeological studies in recent years, particularly in assigning chromosomal sex to remains to aid in understanding historic sociological structures. A pair of studies now present an analysis of stable isotopes and skeletal remains from 395 ancient individuals who lived 8000 to 5800 BCE, from whom DNA from 131 individuals could be sequenced (see the Perspective by Arbuckle). Yüncü et al. found that kinship patterns changed over time in this settlement, but individuals from the same houses or nearby ones were primarily related through the maternal line. In a broader geographic sampling, Koptekin et al. describe population dynamics, including the spread of cultural practices without admixture. —Corinne Simonti INTRODUCTION: Neolithic farming cultures first developed in the Fertile Crescent around 10,000 years ago and later spread into Europe through the Aegean. How the Neolithic lifeways emerged in the Aegean, and particularly West Anatolia, has remained unknown, obscured by a lack of human ancient DNA from pre-Neolithic times. RATIONALE: We studied population and cultural history of the Aegean using 30 new paleogenomes, including a 10,000-year-old individual from West Anatolia, combined with 408 published genomes. We also compiled a digitalized material culture that included 54 cultural traits from 16 sites from around 9000 years ago and joined this with 104 genomes from the same sites. This allowed us to reconstruct mobility and cultural change during the Neolithic transition in the Aegean. RESULTS: We found at least 6000 years of genetic continuity in West Anatolia during the early Holocene, before the arrival of farming villages there. During this time, West Anatolians were in cultural exchange with their eastern neighbors from the Fertile Crescent, exploring sedentary lifeways. But these West Anatolians did not genetically mix with their neighbors in this early phase. Things changed around 9000 years ago, when full-scale farming settlements began spreading across the Aegean. Our paleogenomic data show that this did not occur because of waves of migrant farmers from the east creating farming colonies in the Aegean and replacing local foragers. Rather, the transition unfolded as a fusion: Incoming groups of eastern origin joined together and genetically mixed with the descendants of the local foragers in the newly established villages. This was likely a complex process of coexistence and mutual innovation as well as eventual mixing. It further gave rise to the now-famous "Anatolian Farmer" genetic profile, which subsequently spread across the Aegean Sea and later throughout Europe. In this case, admixture with locals appears more limited and sporadic. We further performed a comparative study of cultural and genetic data, asking whether cultural similarities among the 16 Neolithic settlements may be explained by their genetic similarities, which would be expected if culture was shaped by large-scale mobility and admixture history. We found that cultural similarities among villages could simply be explained by their geographic proximity, whereas their population genetic similarities did not have any explanatory power, implying that ideas mixed faster than people in this region. CONCLUSION: The spread of Neolithic cultures in West Eurasia involved distinct mechanisms, from pure cultural adoption to mobility and admixture between incoming farmers and local foragers to rapid migration and spread. Further, cultural similarities among settlements were not shaped by large-scale mobility (as reflected in genetic data) but rather through background mobility. Our results thus challenge the widespread assumption that cultural entities frequently correspond to genetically homogeneous populations, supporting the archaeological adage, "pots don't equal people." Our study presents a fresh look at mechanisms of cultural change during one of humanity's most transformative periods. Diverse pathways to Neolithization and the uncoupling between cultural and genetic interactions in the Aegean.: (Left) Neolithic practices in West Anatolia first started by cultural interactions, followed by mobility and admixture, and, lastly, migration into Europe. (Right) Comparative analysis of cultural and genetic similarity across 16 Neolithic settlements reveals no correlation between cultural and genetic similarities after controlling for geography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 00368075 |
| DOI: | 10.1126/science.adr3326 |
