Social and genetic diversity among the first farmers of Central Europe
Authors: Gelabert Pere , Bickle Penny , Hofmann Daniela , Teschler-Nicola Maria , Anders Alexandra , Huang Xin , Olalde Iñigo , Fournier Romain , Ringbauer Harald , Akbari Ali , Cheronet Olivia , Lazaridis Iosif , Broomandkhoshbacht Nasreen , Fernandes Daniel M. , Buttinger Katharina , Callan Kim , Candilio Francesca , Bravo Guillermo , Curtis Elizabeth , Ferry Matthew , Keating Denise , Freilich Suzanne , Kearns Aisling , Harney Éadaoin , Lawson Ann Marie , Mandl Kirsten , Michel Megan , Oberreiter Victoria , Oppenheimer Jonas , Sawyer Susanna , Schattke Constanze , Ozdogan Kadir Toykan , Hämmerle Michelle , Qiu Lijun , Workman Noah , Zalzala Fatma , Mallick Swapan , Mah Matthew , Micco Adam , Pieler Franz , Pavuk Juraj , Lazar Catalin , Paluch Tibor , Škrivanko Maja Krznarić , Šlaus Mario , Bedić Željka , Novotny Friederike , Szabó László D. , Cserpák-Laczi Orsolya , Hága Tamara , Hajdú Zsigmond , Mirea Pavel , Nagy Emese Gyöngyvér , Virág Zsuzsanna M. , Horváth Attila M. , Horváth László András , Biró Katalin T. , Domboróczki László , Szeniczey Tamás , Jakucs János , Szelekovszky Márta , Zoltán Farkas , Sztáncsuj Sándor , Tóth Krisztián , Csengeri Piroska , Pap Ildikó , Patay Róbert , Putica Anđelka , Vasov Branislav , Havasi Bálint , Sebők Katalin , Raczky Pál , Lovász Gabriella , Tvrdý Zdeněk , Rohland Nadin , Novak Mario , Ruttkay Matej , Boric Dusan , Dani János , Kuhlwilm Martin , Palamara Pier Francesco , Hajdu Tamás , Pinhasi Ron , Reich David 
Published: July 2023

The Linearbandkeramik (LBK) Neolithic communities were the first to spread farming across large parts of central Europe, settling fertile regions from Ukraine to France during the second half of the 6th millennium BCE. The LBK had a high degree of material culture uniformity, albeit with regional differences in settlement patterns, subsistence, and mortuary practices. To date, ancient DNA data from LBK individuals have been generated for a limited number of locations and often in small sample sizes, making it challenging to study variation within and across sites. We report genome-wide data for 178 LBK individuals, from the Alföld Linearbankeramik Culture (ALPC) eastern LBK site of Polgár-Ferenci-hát in Hungary, the western LBK site of Nitra in Slovakia, and the enclosed western LBK settlement and massacre site of Schletz in Austria, as well as 42 LBK individuals from 18 other sites. We also report genome-wide data for 28 Early Neolithic Körös and Starčevo individuals from 13 sites, viewed as the predecessors of the LBK. We observe a higher percentage of western hunter-gatherer (WHG) admixture among individuals in the eastern LBK than in the far more widely distributed western LBK, showing that these two archaeologically distinct cultures also had different genetic trajectories. Most WHG-farmer mixture occurred just before the dawn of the LBK culture and there is no evidence that the WHG ancestry came systematically more from males or females. However, we do find strong genetic evidence for patrilocality among the LBK, extending previous findings based on isotopic analysis, with more genetic structure across sites on the male than on the female line, and a higher rate of within-site relatives for males. At Schletz we detect almost no first-degree relatives despite reporting data from almost every skeleton present at the site, showing that this massacre involved people from a large population, not a small community.