Ancient DNA Reveals Key Stages in the Formation of Central European Mitochondrial Genetic Diversity

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Department of Anthropology Papers
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Palaeolithic
Neolithic
mitochondrial DNA
Central European
genetic diversity
Anthropology
Genetics and Genomics
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Social and Behavioral Sciences
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Genographic Consortium
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The processes that shaped modern European mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation remain unclear. The initial peopling by Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers ~42,000 years ago and the immigration of Neolithic farmers into Europe ~8000 years ago appear to have played important roles but do not explain present-day mtDNA diversity. We generated mtDNA profiles of 364 individuals from prehistoric cultures in Central Europe to perform a chronological study, spanning the Early Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age (5500 to 1550 calibrated years before the common era). We used this transect through time to identify four marked shifts in genetic composition during the Neolithic period, revealing a key role for Late Neolithic cultures in shaping modern Central European genetic diversity.

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2013-10-11
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Theodore G. Schurr is not listed as an individual author on this paper but is part of the Genographic Consortium. A full list of Genographic Consortium members are listed in the supplementary materials.
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