Modern humans have populated Europe for more than 45,000 years1,2. Our knowledge of the genetic relatedness and structure of ancient hunter-gatherers is however limited, owing to the scarceness and poor molecular preservation of human remains from that period3. Here we analyse 356 ancient hunter-gatherer genomes, including new genomic data for 116 individuals from 14 countries in western and central Eurasia, spanning between 35,000 and 5,000 years ago. We identify a genetic ancestry profile in individuals associated with Upper Palaeolithic Gravettian assemblages from western Europe that is distinct from contemporaneous groups related to this archaeological culture in central and southern Europe4, but resembles that of preceding individuals associated with the Aurignacian culture. This ancestry profile survived during the Last Glacial Maximum (25,000 to 19,000 years ago) in human populations from southwestern Europe associated with the Solutrean culture, and with the following Magdalenian culture that re-expanded northeastward after the Last Glacial Maximum. Conversely, we reveal a genetic turnover in southern Europe suggesting a local replacement of human groups around the time of the Last Glacial Maximum, accompanied by a north-to-south dispersal of populations associated with the Epigravettian culture. From at least 14,000 years ago, an ancestry related to this culture spread from the south across the rest of Europe, largely replacing the Magdalenian-associated gene pool. After a period of limited admixture that spanned the beginning of the Mesolithic, we find genetic interactions between western and eastern European hunter-gatherers, who were also characterized by marked differences in phenotypically relevant variants.

Age at death estimation in cases of human skeletal finds is an important task in forensic medicine as well as in anthropology. In forensic medicine, methods based on “molecular clocks” in dental tissues and bone play an increasing role. The question, whether these methods are applicable also in cases with post-depositional intervals far beyond the forensically relevant period, was investigated for two “protein clocks”, the accumulation of D-aspartic acid (D-Asp) and the accumulation of pentosidine (Pen) in dentine. Eight teeth of skeletons from different burial sites in Austria and with post-depositional intervals between c. 1216 and c. 8775 years were analysed. The results of age at death estimation based on D-Asp and Pen in dentine were compared to that derived from a classical morphological examination. Age at death estimation based on D-Asp resulted consistently in false high values. This finding can be explained by a post-mortem accumulation of D-Asp that may be enhanced by protein degradation. In contrast, the Pen-based age estimates fitted well with the morphological age diagnoses. The described effect of post-mortem protein degradation is negligible in forensically relevant time horizons, but not for post-depositional intervals of thousands of years. That means that the “D-Asp clock” loses its functionality with increasing post-depositional intervals, whereas Pen seems to be very stable. The “Pen-clock” may have the potential to become an interesting supplement to the existing repertoire of methods even in cases with extremely long post-depositional intervals. Further investigations have to test this hypothesis.

Ancient DNA analyses have shown to be a powerful tool in the joint transdisciplinary assessment of archaeological records involving human remains. In this study we set out to identify single inhumations by synoptically evaluating the historical, archaeological, anthropological and molecular records on human remains from the crypt of the aristocratic family of Hoheneck (or: Hohenegg) dating to the 18(th) and 19(th) century AD. A total of 11 individuals were under investigation, yielding complete autosomal and Y-chromosomal STR profiles for 5 persons clearly showing a family group. DNA results, anthropological data and archaeological records taken together resulted in (almost) unambiguous correlation to historical records on the persons entombed in the crypt.

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