Ancient DNA reveals Anatolian farmers reshaped Europe's genetic makeup

2026-02-23 - 22:02

Groundbreaking ancient DNA research published in Nature reveals that between 6500 and 4000 BCE, descendants of farmers from western Anatolia spread across Europe, mixing with local hunter-gatherers and replacing 70 to 100 percent of indigenous ancestry in most regions. The study, titled "Lasting Lower Rhine–Meuse forager ancestry shaped Bell Beaker expansion," documents one of the most significant demographic transformations in European prehistory. Two Paths of Neolithic Expansion According to the research, early farmers from Anatolia entered Europe primarily through two corridors: via Thrace and the Balkans into Central Europe, and along the Mediterranean coastline. As these farming communities expanded, they gradually interbred with Western Hunter-Gatherers (WHG), creating populations researchers term Early European Farmers (EEF). These groups introduced agriculture across the continent and, through sustained mixing with Mesolithic foragers, fundamentally transformed the genetic landscape, laying the foundation for modern European ancestry. A Remarkable Exception in Northwest Europe The study identifies a striking exception to this pattern in the wetland, riverine, and coastal zones of the Lower Rhine–Meuse region, encompassing parts of modern Netherlands, Belgium, and western Germany. In this water-rich environment, populations carrying approximately 50 percent hunter-gatherer ancestry persisted for nearly 3,000 years longer than elsewhere, surviving well into the Bell Beaker period around 2500 BCE. Why Hunter-Gatherers Endured Researchers determined that this prolonged survival occurred because women from Anatolian-related farming communities joined local hunter-gatherer groups, rather than the reverse pattern observed elsewhere. The region's abundant wild resources and environmental conditions unsuitable for intensive early agriculture allowed traditional foraging lifestyles and genetic lineages to endure far longer than on the rest of the continent. Limited gene flow and selective cultural adoption created a long-term refuge for hunter-gatherer populations in northwest Europe's wetlands, demonstrating that the Neolithic transition was neither uniform nor inevitable across all European landscapes.