Human interactions during the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in Western Europe: The dual perspectives of cultural and biological exchanges

• Applicant: Dr. Wolfgang Haak
• Subject Area: Prehistory and World Archaeology
• Term: from 2018 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 389809515

• Final Report Year: 2023

Final Report Abstract

Biological and cultural interactions of human communities during the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in Western Europe. The emergence of early farming, which involved the domestication of plants and animals, sedentism and permanent housing, and associated technological advances (stone tools, pottery, etc.) in the Neolithic of the Near East around 12,000 years ago, had a profound effect on human prehistory. During the 6th millennium BC, this way of life spread rapidly across Europe along two distinct routes (Danube valley and Mediterranean coast). The archaeological record illustrates the complex nature in which Neolithic farming spread across the many regions of Europe, which is likely a result of different mode of contact and interaction between expanding farmers and indigenous (Mesolithic) huntergatherer groups. While the complexity of interactions and mosaic of regional variability were previously recognized from the perspective of archaeological material cultures, no genetic data existed to underpin potential biological interactions between the various prehistoric communities. Integrating archaeological and genetic data to understand the biological and cultural exchanges. The INTERACT project used a unique approach which combined archaeological and genetic data at both macro-regional (Western Europe) and local (community) levels. We target regions in today’s France, Italy and Germany, which were critical with regards to interactions between prehistoric communities. The archaeological contexts of the target regions were identified through the consolidation of available databases. The study of new archaeological sites, combined with 130 new radiocarbon dates, made it possible to refine the geographical and chronological distribution of cultural entities. The genetic diversity of hunter-gather and farmer groups has been investigated by generating and analyzing genomic data from ~650 prehistoric human remains from a wide range of chrono-cultural contexts. Our integrated approach made it possible to compare biological and cultural contacts between these groups directly, and to specify modes of contact and exchange, which resulted in a refined understanding of the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in Western Europe. We found that biological contact between expanding farmers and indigenous hunter-gatherers was more common in western Europe than in central or south-eastern Europe. This observation echoes the mosaic of cultural influences in the archaeological record. Moreover, detailed intra-site studies allowed us reconstruct kinship structures and the social organization of early farmer communities.

Publications

• Ancient genome-wide DNA from France highlights the complexity of interactions between Mesolithic hunter-gatherers and Neolithic farmers. Science Advances, 6(22).
  Rivollat, Maïté; Jeong, Choongwon; Schiffels, Stephan; Küçükkalıpçı, İşil; Pemonge, Marie-Hélène; Rohrlach, Adam Benjamin; Alt, Kurt W.; Binder, Didier; Friederich, Susanne; Ghesquière, Emmanuel; Gronenborn, Detlef; Laporte, Luc; Lefranc, Philippe; Meller, Harald; Réveillas, Hélène; Rosenstock, Eva; Rottier, Stéphane; Scarre, Chris; Soler, Ludovic ... & Haak, Wolfgang
  
• Diversité génomique des groupes mésolithiques en Europe – origine, évolution et métissages, In: Les derniers chasseurs, 40 ans après – Hommages à Jean- Georges Rozoy, Collectif, Revue archéologique de Champagne, t. 113, n°2 and 3, p. 375-394.
  Rivollat M. & Deguilloux M.-F.
  
• Ten millennia of hepatitis B virus evolution. Science, 374(6564), 182-188.
  Kocher, Arthur; Papac, Luka; Barquera, Rodrigo; Key, Felix M.; Spyrou, Maria A.; Hübler, Ron; Rohrlach, Adam B.; Aron, Franziska; Stahl, Raphaela; Wissgott, Antje; van Bömmel, Florian; Pfefferkorn, Maria; Mittnik, Alissa; Villalba-Mouco, Vanessa; Neumann, Gunnar U.; Rivollat, Maïté; van de Loosdrecht, Marieke, S.; Majander, Kerttu; Tukhbatova, Rezeda I. ... & Kühnert, Denise
  
• Using Y-chromosome capture enrichment to resolve haplogroup H2 shows new evidence for a two-path Neolithic expansion to Western Europe. Scientific Reports, 11(1).
  Rohrlach, Adam B.; Papac, Luka; Childebayeva, Ainash; Rivollat, Maïté; Villalba-Mouco, Vanessa; Neumann, Gunnar U.; Penske, Sandra; Skourtanioti, Eirini; van de Loosdrecht, Marieke; Akar, Murat; Boyadzhiev, Kamen; Boyadzhiev, Yavor; Deguilloux, Marie-France; Dobeš, Miroslav; Erdal, Yilmaz S.; Ernée, Michal; Frangipane, Marcella; Furmanek, Mirosław; Friederich, Susanne ... & Haak, Wolfgang
  
• Ancient DNA gives new insights into a Norman Neolithic monumental cemetery dedicated to male elites. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(18).
  Rivollat, Maïté; Thomas, Aline; Ghesquière, Emmanuel; Rohrlach, Adam Benjamin; Späth, Ellen; Pemonge, Marie-Hélène; Haak, Wolfgang; Chambon, Philippe & Deguilloux, Marie-France
  
• Mobility and Migration in western Central Europe during the fifth and fourth Millennia cal BC. In: HEYD V., AHOLA M. (Eds.), Moving and Migrating in Prehistoric Europe (2022).
  Gronenborn D. & Haak W.
  
• Neolithic genomic data from southern France showcase intensified interactions with hunter-gatherer communities. iScience, 25(11), 105387.
  Arzelier, Ana; Rivollat, Maïté; De Belvalet, Harmony; Pemonge, Marie-Hélène; Binder, Didier; Convertini, Fabien; Duday, Henri; Gandelin, Muriel; Guilaine, Jean; Haak, Wolfgang; Deguilloux, Marie-France & Pruvost, Mélanie
  
• Population Genetics and Signatures of Selection in Early Neolithic European Farmers. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 39(6).
  Childebayeva, Ainash; Rohrlach, Adam Benjamin; Barquera, Rodrigo; Rivollat, Maïté; Aron, Franziska; Szolek, András; Kohlbacher, Oliver; Nicklisch, Nicole; Alt, Kurt W.; Gronenborn, Detlef; Meller, Harald; Friederich, Susanne; Prüfer, Kay; Deguilloux, Marie-France; Krause, Johannes & Haak, Wolfgang
  
• Explaining population booms and busts in Mid-Holocene Europe. Scientific Reports, 13(1).
  Kondor, Dániel; Bennett, James S.; Gronenborn, Detlef; Antunes, Nicolas; Hoyer, Daniel & Turchin, Peter
  
• Extensive pedigrees reveal the social organization of a Neolithic community. Nature, 620(7974), 600-606.
  Rivollat, Maïté; Rohrlach, Adam Benjamin; Ringbauer, Harald; Childebayeva, Ainash; Mendisco, Fanny; Barquera, Rodrigo; Szolek, András; Le Roy, Mélie; Colleran, Heidi; Tuke, Jonathan; Aron, Franziska; Pemonge, Marie-Hélène; Späth, Ellen; Télouk, Philippe; Rey, Léonie; Goude, Gwenaëlle; Balter, Vincent; Krause, Johannes; Rottier, Stéphane ... & Haak, Wolfgang
  
• Jade, Salt, and Copper. Emerging Complexity in Central European early Agrarian Societies. In: REINDEL M., KAULICKE P., KUNST M., FAZELI NASHLI H., THOMALSKY J. (Eds.), Neolithisation and the Origins of Complexity. DAI Research Cluster 1: From sedentarization to the complex society: settlement, economy, environment, cult. Proceedings of the workshops in Tehran, Lisbon and Lima. Menschen - Kulturen - Traditionen / People - Cultures - Traditions 17 (Berlin 2024).
  Gronenborn D.; Antunes N. & Rivollat M.