Unraveling ancestry, kinship, and violence in a Late Neolithic mass grave

Hannes Schroeder; Ashot Margaryan; Marzena Szmyt; Bertrand Theulot; Piotr Włodarczak; Simon Rasmussen; Shyam Gopalakrishnan; Anita Szczepanek; Tomasz Konopka; Theis Z. T. Jensen; Barbara Witkowska; Stanisław Wilk; Marcin M Przybyła; Łukasz Pospieszny; Karl-Göran Sjögren; Zdzislaw Belka; Jesper Olsen; Kristian Kristiansen; Eske Willerslev; Karin M. Frei; Martin Sikora; Niels N. Johannsen; Morten E. Allentoft

doi:10.1073/pnas.1820210116

Unraveling ancestry, kinship, and violence in a Late Neolithic mass grave

Hannes Schroeder, Ashot Margaryan, Marzena Szmyt, Bertrand Theulot, Piotr Włodarczak, Simon Rasmussen, Shyam Gopalakrishnan, Anita Szczepanek, Tomasz Konopka, Theis Z. T. Jensen, Barbara Witkowska, Stanisław Wilk, Marcin M Przybyła, Łukasz Pospieszny, Karl-Göran Sjögren, Zdzislaw Belka, Jesper Olsen, Kristian Kristiansen, Eske Willerslev, Karin M. FreiMartin Sikora, Niels N. Johannsen, Morten E. Allentoft

Disease Systems Biology Program

32 Citationer (Scopus)

Abstract

The third millennium BCE was a period of major cultural and demographic changes in Europe that signaled the beginning of the Bronze Age. People from the Pontic steppe expanded westward, leading to the formation of the Corded Ware complex and transforming the genetic landscape of Europe. At the time, the Globular Amphora culture (3300-2700 BCE) existed over large parts of Central and Eastern Europe, but little is known about their interaction with neighboring Corded Ware groups and steppe societies. Here we present a detailed study of a Late Neolithic mass grave from southern Poland belonging to the Globular Amphora culture and containing the remains of 15 men, women, and children, all killed by blows to the head. We sequenced their genomes to between 1.1- and 3.9-fold coverage and performed kinship analyses that demonstrate that the individuals belonged to a large extended family. The bodies had been carefully laid out according to kin relationships by someone who evidently knew the deceased. From a population genetic viewpoint, the people from Koszyce are clearly distinct from neighboring Corded Ware groups because of their lack of steppe-related ancestry. Although the reason for the massacre is unknown, it is possible that it was connected with the expansion of Corded Ware groups, which may have resulted in competition for resources and violent conflict. Together with the archaeological evidence, these analyses provide an unprecedented level of insight into the kinship structure and social behavior of a Late Neolithic community.

Originalsprog	Engelsk
Tidsskrift	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Vol/bind	116
Udgave nummer	22
Sider (fra-til)	10705-10710
ISSN	0027-8424
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1820210116
Status	Udgivet - 28 maj 2019

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10.1073/pnas.1820210116

10705.full.pdfForlagets udgivne version, 2,13 MBLicens: CC BY-NC-ND

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Schroeder, H., Margaryan, A., Szmyt, M., Theulot, B., Włodarczak, P., Rasmussen, S., Gopalakrishnan, S., Szczepanek, A., Konopka, T., Jensen, T. Z. T., Witkowska, B., Wilk, S., Przybyła, M. M., Pospieszny, Ł., Sjögren, K.-G., Belka, Z., Olsen, J., Kristiansen, K., Willerslev, E., ... Allentoft, M. E. (2019). Unraveling ancestry, kinship, and violence in a Late Neolithic mass grave. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116(22), 10705-10710. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1820210116

Schroeder, H , Margaryan, A, Szmyt, M, Theulot, B, Włodarczak, P, Rasmussen, S , Gopalakrishnan, S, Szczepanek, A, Konopka, T, Jensen, TZT, Witkowska, B, Wilk, S, Przybyła, MM, Pospieszny, Ł, Sjögren, K-G, Belka, Z, Olsen, J, Kristiansen, K, Willerslev, E , Frei, KM , Sikora, M, Johannsen, NN & Allentoft, ME 2019, 'Unraveling ancestry, kinship, and violence in a Late Neolithic mass grave', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, bind 116, nr. 22, s. 10705-10710. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1820210116

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abstract = "The third millennium BCE was a period of major cultural and demographic changes in Europe that signaled the beginning of the Bronze Age. People from the Pontic steppe expanded westward, leading to the formation of the Corded Ware complex and transforming the genetic landscape of Europe. At the time, the Globular Amphora culture (3300-2700 BCE) existed over large parts of Central and Eastern Europe, but little is known about their interaction with neighboring Corded Ware groups and steppe societies. Here we present a detailed study of a Late Neolithic mass grave from southern Poland belonging to the Globular Amphora culture and containing the remains of 15 men, women, and children, all killed by blows to the head. We sequenced their genomes to between 1.1- and 3.9-fold coverage and performed kinship analyses that demonstrate that the individuals belonged to a large extended family. The bodies had been carefully laid out according to kin relationships by someone who evidently knew the deceased. From a population genetic viewpoint, the people from Koszyce are clearly distinct from neighboring Corded Ware groups because of their lack of steppe-related ancestry. Although the reason for the massacre is unknown, it is possible that it was connected with the expansion of Corded Ware groups, which may have resulted in competition for resources and violent conflict. Together with the archaeological evidence, these analyses provide an unprecedented level of insight into the kinship structure and social behavior of a Late Neolithic community.",

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AU - Schroeder, Hannes

AU - Margaryan, Ashot

AU - Szmyt, Marzena

AU - Theulot, Bertrand

AU - Włodarczak, Piotr

AU - Rasmussen, Simon

AU - Gopalakrishnan, Shyam

AU - Szczepanek, Anita

AU - Konopka, Tomasz

AU - Jensen, Theis Z. T.

AU - Witkowska, Barbara

AU - Wilk, Stanisław

AU - Przybyła, Marcin M

AU - Pospieszny, Łukasz

AU - Sjögren, Karl-Göran

AU - Belka, Zdzislaw

AU - Olsen, Jesper

AU - Kristiansen, Kristian

AU - Willerslev, Eske

AU - Frei, Karin M.

AU - Sikora, Martin

AU - Johannsen, Niels N.

AU - Allentoft, Morten E.

PY - 2019/5/28

Y1 - 2019/5/28

N2 - The third millennium BCE was a period of major cultural and demographic changes in Europe that signaled the beginning of the Bronze Age. People from the Pontic steppe expanded westward, leading to the formation of the Corded Ware complex and transforming the genetic landscape of Europe. At the time, the Globular Amphora culture (3300-2700 BCE) existed over large parts of Central and Eastern Europe, but little is known about their interaction with neighboring Corded Ware groups and steppe societies. Here we present a detailed study of a Late Neolithic mass grave from southern Poland belonging to the Globular Amphora culture and containing the remains of 15 men, women, and children, all killed by blows to the head. We sequenced their genomes to between 1.1- and 3.9-fold coverage and performed kinship analyses that demonstrate that the individuals belonged to a large extended family. The bodies had been carefully laid out according to kin relationships by someone who evidently knew the deceased. From a population genetic viewpoint, the people from Koszyce are clearly distinct from neighboring Corded Ware groups because of their lack of steppe-related ancestry. Although the reason for the massacre is unknown, it is possible that it was connected with the expansion of Corded Ware groups, which may have resulted in competition for resources and violent conflict. Together with the archaeological evidence, these analyses provide an unprecedented level of insight into the kinship structure and social behavior of a Late Neolithic community.

AB - The third millennium BCE was a period of major cultural and demographic changes in Europe that signaled the beginning of the Bronze Age. People from the Pontic steppe expanded westward, leading to the formation of the Corded Ware complex and transforming the genetic landscape of Europe. At the time, the Globular Amphora culture (3300-2700 BCE) existed over large parts of Central and Eastern Europe, but little is known about their interaction with neighboring Corded Ware groups and steppe societies. Here we present a detailed study of a Late Neolithic mass grave from southern Poland belonging to the Globular Amphora culture and containing the remains of 15 men, women, and children, all killed by blows to the head. We sequenced their genomes to between 1.1- and 3.9-fold coverage and performed kinship analyses that demonstrate that the individuals belonged to a large extended family. The bodies had been carefully laid out according to kin relationships by someone who evidently knew the deceased. From a population genetic viewpoint, the people from Koszyce are clearly distinct from neighboring Corded Ware groups because of their lack of steppe-related ancestry. Although the reason for the massacre is unknown, it is possible that it was connected with the expansion of Corded Ware groups, which may have resulted in competition for resources and violent conflict. Together with the archaeological evidence, these analyses provide an unprecedented level of insight into the kinship structure and social behavior of a Late Neolithic community.

U2 - 10.1073/pnas.1820210116

DO - 10.1073/pnas.1820210116

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 31061125

SN - 0027-8424

VL - 116

SP - 10705

EP - 10710

JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

IS - 22

ER -

Unraveling ancestry, kinship, and violence in a Late Neolithic mass grave

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