In the Neolithic, agriculture established itself gradually

A study from UNIGE shows that European hunter-gatherers and farmers from Anatolia mixed gradually during the Neolithic.

Mathias Currat’s group, in the Department of Genetics & Evolution, recently published a study in Science Advances on the transition to agriculture in Europe 9,000 years ago, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Fribourg and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. Alexandros Tsoupas, a PhD student in Currat’s group, used computer simulations and ancient genetic data to understand interactions between hunter-gatherers and the first farmers who came from Anatolia.

The results reveal that genetic mixing between the two populations was rare at first but increased locally over time along the “Danube route.” The researchers also estimated the demographic advantage of the first farmers, with an effective population size five times larger than that of the hunter-gatherers.

These conclusions provide a nuanced answer to a long-standing debate about the Neolithization of Europe, showing that the process was not a simple colonization but a complex series of contacts, cohabitations, and mixes that increased gradually over time. The study also illustrates the power of combining ancient DNA and modeling approaches to trace major chapters of human history.

Reference

Alexandros Tsoupas et al.
Local increases in admixture with hunter-gatherers followed the initial expansion of Neolithic farmers across continental Europe.
Sci. Adv.11,eadq9976(2025). DOI:10.1126/sciadv.adq9976