AI Article Synopsis
- The Neolithic transition in Europe was led by Near Eastern farmers who gradually spread agriculture across the continent over 3,500 years.
- This expansion was uneven, particularly slowing down in northern regions due to climatic challenges affecting food production.
- The study revealed that farming and hunter-gatherer groups likely interacted more in these difficult climates, as poor crop yields may have encouraged cooperation.
Article Abstract
The Neolithic transition in Europe was driven by the rapid dispersal of Near Eastern farmers who, over a period of 3,500 years, brought food production to the furthest corners of the continent. However, this wave of expansion was far from homogeneous, and climatic factors may have driven a marked slowdown observed at higher latitudes. Here, we test this hypothesis by assembling a large database of archaeological dates of first arrival of farming to quantify the expansion dynamics. We identify four axes of expansion and observe a slowdown along three axes when crossing the same climatic threshold. This threshold reflects the quality of the growing season, suggesting that Near Eastern crops might have struggled under more challenging climatic conditions. This same threshold also predicts the mixing of farmers and hunter-gatherers as estimated from ancient DNA, suggesting that unreliable yields in these regions might have favoured the contact between the two groups.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-0897-7 | DOI Listing |
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