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Ancient DNA from Chalcolithic Israel reveals the role of population mixture in cultural transformation

Author

Listed:
  • Éadaoin Harney

    (Harvard University
    Harvard Medical School
    The Max Planck–Harvard Research Center for the Archaeoscience of the Ancient Mediterranean)

  • Hila May

    (Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University
    Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Steinhardt Natural History Museum, Tel Aviv University)

  • Dina Shalem

    (The Institute for Galilean Archaeology, Kinneret Academic College)

  • Nadin Rohland

    (Harvard Medical School)

  • Swapan Mallick

    (Harvard Medical School
    Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
    Howard Hughes Medical Institute)

  • Iosif Lazaridis

    (Harvard Medical School
    The Max Planck–Harvard Research Center for the Archaeoscience of the Ancient Mediterranean)

  • Rachel Sarig

    (Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Steinhardt Natural History Museum, Tel Aviv University
    Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University)

  • Kristin Stewardson

    (Harvard Medical School
    Howard Hughes Medical Institute)

  • Susanne Nordenfelt

    (Harvard Medical School
    Howard Hughes Medical Institute)

  • Nick Patterson

    (Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
    Howard Hughes Medical Institute)

  • Israel Hershkovitz

    (Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University
    Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Steinhardt Natural History Museum, Tel Aviv University)

  • David Reich

    (Harvard Medical School
    The Max Planck–Harvard Research Center for the Archaeoscience of the Ancient Mediterranean
    Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
    Howard Hughes Medical Institute)

Abstract

The material culture of the Late Chalcolithic period in the southern Levant (4500–3900/3800 BCE) is qualitatively distinct from previous and subsequent periods. Here, to test the hypothesis that the advent and decline of this culture was influenced by movements of people, we generated genome-wide ancient DNA from 22 individuals from Peqi’in Cave, Israel. These individuals were part of a homogeneous population that can be modeled as deriving ~57% of its ancestry from groups related to those of the local Levant Neolithic, ~17% from groups related to those of the Iran Chalcolithic, and ~26% from groups related to those of the Anatolian Neolithic. The Peqi’in population also appears to have contributed differently to later Bronze Age groups, one of which we show cannot plausibly have descended from the same population as that of Peqi’in Cave. These results provide an example of how population movements propelled cultural changes in the deep past.

Suggested Citation

  • Éadaoin Harney & Hila May & Dina Shalem & Nadin Rohland & Swapan Mallick & Iosif Lazaridis & Rachel Sarig & Kristin Stewardson & Susanne Nordenfelt & Nick Patterson & Israel Hershkovitz & David Reich, 2018. "Ancient DNA from Chalcolithic Israel reveals the role of population mixture in cultural transformation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 9(1), pages 1-11, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:9:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-018-05649-9
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-05649-9
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    Cited by:

    1. Kendra A. Sirak & Daniel M. Fernandes & Mark Lipson & Swapan Mallick & Matthew Mah & Iñigo Olalde & Harald Ringbauer & Nadin Rohland & Carla S. Hadden & Éadaoin Harney & Nicole Adamski & Rebecca Berna, 2021. "Social stratification without genetic differentiation at the site of Kulubnarti in Christian Period Nubia," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-14, December.
    2. Leonardo Vallini & Carlo Zampieri & Mohamed Javad Shoaee & Eugenio Bortolini & Giulia Marciani & Serena Aneli & Telmo Pievani & Stefano Benazzi & Alberto Barausse & Massimo Mezzavilla & Michael D. Pet, 2024. "The Persian plateau served as hub for Homo sapiens after the main out of Africa dispersal," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, December.

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