Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Ancient DNA, pig domestication, and the spread of the Neolithic into Europe.

Larson, G.; Albarella, U.; Dobney, K.; Rowley-Conwy, P.; Schibler, J.; Tresset, A.; Vigne, J-D.; Edwards, C.J.; Schlumbaum, A.; Dinu, A.; Balaçsescu, A.; Dolman, G.; Tagliacozzo, A.; Manaseryan, N.; Miracle, P.; van Wijngaarden-Bakker, L.; Masseti, M.; Bradley, D.G.; Cooper, A.

Authors

G. Larson

U. Albarella

K. Dobney

J. Schibler

A. Tresset

J-D. Vigne

C.J. Edwards

A. Schlumbaum

A. Dinu

A. Balaçsescu

G. Dolman

A. Tagliacozzo

N. Manaseryan

P. Miracle

L. van Wijngaarden-Bakker

M. Masseti

D.G. Bradley

A. Cooper



Abstract

The Neolithic Revolution began 11,000 years ago in the Near East and preceded a westward migration into Europe of distinctive cultural groups and their agricultural economies, including domesticated animals and plants. Despite decades of research, no consensus has emerged about the extent of admixture between the indigenous and exotic populations or the degree to which the appearance of specific components of the “Neolithic cultural package” in Europe reflects truly independent development. Here, through the use of mitochondrial DNA from 323 modern and 221 ancient pig specimens sampled across western Eurasia, we demonstrate that domestic pigs of Near Eastern ancestry were definitely introduced into Europe during the Neolithic (potentially along two separate routes), reaching the Paris Basin by at least the early 4th millennium B.C. Local European wild boar were also domesticated by this time, possibly as a direct consequence of the introduction of Near Eastern domestic pigs. Once domesticated, European pigs rapidly replaced the introduced domestic pigs of Near Eastern origin throughout Europe. Domestic pigs formed a key component of the Neolithic Revolution, and this detailed genetic record of their origins reveals a complex set of interactions and processes during the spread of early farmers into Europe.

Citation

Larson, G., Albarella, U., Dobney, K., Rowley-Conwy, P., Schibler, J., Tresset, A., …Cooper, A. (2007). Ancient DNA, pig domestication, and the spread of the Neolithic into Europe. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104(39), 15276-15281. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0703411104

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date 2007-09
Journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Print ISSN 0027-8424
Electronic ISSN 1091-6490
Publisher National Academy of Sciences
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 104
Issue 39
Pages 15276-15281
DOI https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0703411104


You might also like



Downloadable Citations