The importance of the process of Neolithization for the genetic make-up of European populations has been hotly debated, with shifting hypotheses from a demic diffusion (DD) to a cultural diffusion (CD) model. In this regard, ancient DNA data from the Balkan Peninsula, which is an important source of information to assess the process of Neolithization in Europe, is however missing. In the present study we show genetic information on ancient populations of the South-East of Europe. We assessed mtDNA from ten sites from the current territory of Romania, spanning a time-period from the Early Neolithic to the Late Bronze Age. mtDNA data from Early Neolithic farmers of the Starčevo Criş culture in Romania (Cârcea, Gura Baciului and Negrileşti sites), confirm their genetic relationship with those of the LBK culture (Linienbandkeramik Kultur) in Central Europe, and they show little genetic continuity with modern European populations. On the other hand, populations of the Middle-Late Neolithic (Boian, Zau and Gumelniţa cultures), supposedly a second wave of Neolithic migration from Anatolia, had a much stronger effect on the genetic heritage of the European populations. In contrast, we find a smaller contribution of Late Bronze Age migrations to the genetic composition of Europeans. Based on these findings, we propose that permeation of mtDNA lineages from a second wave of Middle-Late Neolithic migration from North-West Anatolia into the Balkan Peninsula and Central Europe represent an important contribution to the genetic shift between Early and Late Neolithic populations in Europe, and consequently to the genetic make-up of modern European populations.
The genomic landscape of Stone Age Europe was shaped by multiple migratory waves and population replacements, but different regions do not all show the same patterns. To refine our understanding of the population dynamics before and after the dawn of the Neolithic, we generated and analyzed genomic sequence data from human remains of 56 individuals from the Mesolithic, Neolithic and Eneolithic across Central and Eastern Europe. We found that Mesolithic European populations formed a geographically widespread isolation-by-distance zone ranging from Central Europe to Siberia, which was already established 10 000 years ago. We also found contrasting patterns of population continuity during the Neolithic transition: people around the lower Dnipro Valley region, Ukraine, showed continuity over 4 000 years, from the Mesolithic to the end of Neolithic, in contrast to almost all other parts of Europe where population turnover drove this cultural change, including vast areas of Central Europe and around the Danube River.
The genomic landscape of Stone Age Europe was shaped by multiple migratory waves and population replacements, but different regions do not all show similar patterns. To refine our understanding of the population dynamics before and after the dawn of the Neolithic, we generated and analyzed genomic sequence data from human remains of 56 individuals from the Mesolithic, Neolithic, and Eneolithic across Central and Eastern Europe. We found that Mesolithic European populations formed a geographically widespread isolation-by-distance zone ranging from Central Europe to Siberia, which was already established 10,000 years ago. We found contrasting patterns of population continuity during the Neolithic transition: people around the lower Dnipro Valley region, Ukraine, showed continuity over 4000 years, from the Mesolithic to the end of the Neolithic, in contrast to almost all other parts of Europe where population turnover drove this cultural change, including vast areas of Central Europe and around the Danube River.
This study is dedicated to the general presentation of the content, the dating and the significations of the known hoard from LBA II discovered in the “Cioclovina cu Apă” Cave / “Wet Cioclovina” Cave (Hunedoara county), discovery that constitutes one of the most remarkable monuments from the Romanian prehistory (over 7500 artifacts, most of them made of exotic materials). The association of at least four fundamental natural elements inside the archaeological monument under research here (mountain, forest, cave, and water) sets the initial starting points of the transformation of the monument into a cult place/sanctuary. There must have also been some revelation, some sign etc. The sanctuary inside the “Cioclovina cu Apă” Cave has attracted very rich and varied offerings (bronze items, exotic objects, pottery, antler cheek-pieces, and meat offerings) that were deposited in three consecrated spots in the Great Hall, places under the mark of the «spring of divinity». Starting from the fact that almost all of the offerings are jewelry items worn by women or elements that decorate horse harness, I have considered the idea that a Nymph or a Nymph associated with another deity was venerated here, in both cases in association with horses, as being the closest to the truth. I pleaded in favor of the possible presence of oracular components. Also, from the presented perspectives I considered that the exceptional ritual practices that took place in this cave place it in the sphere of inter-regional collective/institutional cult manifestations, in which the elites, including the female, played a dominant role.
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