Early farmers from across Europe directly descended from Neolithic Aegeans

TLDR

Early Holocene farming originated in southwestern Asia and spread into Europe via multiple routes, yet the relative contributions of migration, cultural diffusion, and local admixture remain unclear. The study aims to provide paleogenomic data from five Neolithic individuals in northern Greece and northwestern Turkey to investigate the earliest spread of farming into Europe. Using a novel ancient‑DNA read‑recalibration and genotype‑calling pipeline, the authors identified striking genetic similarity among Aegean early farmers and across Europe. The results demonstrate a direct genetic link between Mediterranean and Central European early farmers and those of Greece and Anatolia, extending the Neolithic migratory chain back to southwestern Asia.

Abstract

Farming and sedentism first appeared in southwestern Asia during the early Holocene and later spread to neighboring regions, including Europe, along multiple dispersal routes. Conspicuous uncertainties remain about the relative roles of migration, cultural diffusion, and admixture with local foragers in the early Neolithization of Europe. Here we present paleogenomic data for five Neolithic individuals from northern Greece and northwestern Turkey spanning the time and region of the earliest spread of farming into Europe. We use a novel approach to recalibrate raw reads and call genotypes from ancient DNA and observe striking genetic similarity both among Aegean early farmers and with those from across Europe. Our study demonstrates a direct genetic link between Mediterranean and Central European early farmers and those of Greece and Anatolia, extending the European Neolithic migratory chain all the way back to southwestern Asia.