Dataset Information

Genomic and dietary discontinuities during the Mesolithic and Neolithic in Sicily.

ABSTRACT: Sicily is a key region for understanding the agricultural transition in the Mediterranean because of its central position. Here, we present genomic and stable isotopic data for 19 prehistoric Sicilians covering the Mesolithic to Bronze Age periods (10,700-4,100 yBP). We find that Early Mesolithic hunter-gatherers (HGs) from Sicily are a highly drifted lineage of the Early Holocene western European HGs, whereas Late Mesolithic HGs carry ∼20% ancestry related to northern and (south) eastern European HGs, indicating substantial gene flow. Early Neolithic farmers are genetically most similar to farmers from the Balkans and Greece, with only ∼7% of ancestry from local Mesolithic HGs. The genetic discontinuities during the Mesolithic and Early Neolithic match the changes in material culture and diet. Three outlying individuals dated to ∼8,000 yBP; however, suggest that hunter-gatherers interacted with incoming farmers at Grotta dell'Uzzo, resulting in a mixed economy and diet for a brief interlude at the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition.

SUBMITTER: Yu H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9051636 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Genomic and dietary discontinuities during the Mesolithic and Neolithic in Sicily.

Yu He H van de Loosdrecht Marieke S MS Mannino Marcello A MA Talamo Sahra S Rohrlach Adam B AB Childebayeva Ainash A Villalba-Mouco Vanessa V Aron Franziska F Brandt Guido G Burri Marta M Freund Cäcilia C Radzeviciute Rita R Stahl Raphaela R Wissgott Antje A Fewlass Helen H Tagliacozzo Antonio A Piperno Marcello M Tusa Sebastiano S Collina Carmine C Schimmenti Vittoria V Di Salvo Rosaria R Prüfer Kay K Posth Cosimo C Hublin Jean-Jacques JJ Gronenborn Detlef D Binder Didier D Jeong Choongwon C Haak Wolfgang W Krause Johannes J

iScience 20220412 5

Sicily is a key region for understanding the agricultural transition in the Mediterranean because of its central position. Here, we present genomic and stable isotopic data for 19 prehistoric Sicilians covering the Mesolithic to Bronze Age periods (10,700-4,100 yBP). We find that Early Mesolithic hunter-gatherers (HGs) from Sicily are a highly drifted lineage of the Early Holocene western European HGs, whereas Late Mesolithic HGs carry ∼20% ancestry related to northern and (south) eastern Europe ...[more]

PMID: 35494246

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Project description:In the Western Mediterranean, the Neolithic mainly developed and expanded during the sixth millennium BCE. In these early phases, it generally spread through the displacement of human groups, sometimes over long distances, as shown, for example, by the Impressa sites documented on the northern shores. These groups then settled new territories which they gradually appropriated and exploited. The question of their potential interaction with groups of Late Mesolithic hunter-gatherers living in the area prior to their arrival is therefore crucial. Were their encounters based on conflict and resistance or, on the contrary, on exchange and reciprocity? Many hypotheses have been put forward on this matter and many papers written. Before we can consider these potential interactions however, we must first ascertain that these different human groups really did meet-an implicit assumption in all these studies, which is, in reality, much less certain than one might think. The population density of the Late Mesolithic groups varied greatly throughout the Mediterranean, and it is possible that some areas were relatively devoid of human presence. Before any Neolithization scenarios can be considered, we must therefore first determine exactly which human groups were present in a given territory at a given time. The precise mapping of sites and the chronological modeling of their occupation enriches our understanding of the Neolithization process by allowing high-resolution regional models to be developed, which alone can determine the timing of potential interactions between Mesolithic and Neolithic groups. Various international research programs have recently produced several hundred new radiocarbon dates, based on selected samples from controlled contexts. The geochronological modelling of these data at the scale of the Western Mediterranean shows contrasting situations, probably related to different social and environmental processes. These results suggest that we should consider a varied range of Neolithization mechanisms, rather than uniform or even binary models.

Dataset Information

Genomic and dietary discontinuities during the Mesolithic and Neolithic in Sicily.

Publications

Genomic and dietary discontinuities during the Mesolithic and Neolithic in Sicily.

Similar Datasets

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