Ancient DNA Shows Origins of Bell Beaker People Who Replaced Stonehenge Builders

Analysis of ancient DNA has identified the origins of a group associated with the Bell Beaker culture that arrived in Britain around 2400 BC and largely replaced the Neolithic population that built Stonehenge within a century or less. The Bell Beaker culture emerged in western Europe during the early Bronze Age and is known for distinctive pottery shapes.

While the culture as a whole likely originated in Portugal or Spain, the specific population that moved into Britain came from the river deltas of north-western Europe, according to a study reported by New Scientist. Researchers examined the genomes of 112 people who lived between 8500 and 1700 BC in what is now the Netherlands, Belgium and western Germany.

The DNA showed that a hunter-gatherer population in the Rhine-Meuse delta wetlands maintained much of its genetic ancestry and lifestyle for thousands of years after Neolithic farmers from Anatolia spread across Europe starting around 6500 BC. The wetland environment of rivers, marshes, dunes and peat bogs proved difficult for early farming but supported a mixed subsistence based on fish, waterfowl, game and plants.

The study found that farmer genetic influence remained limited in this region for several thousand years. Y chromosomes in the wetland population stayed predominantly hunter-gatherer for about 1500 years after farmers arrived, while mitochondrial DNA indicated a gradual incorporation of women from farming communities.

The process appears to have been largely peaceful, though some element of force cannot be excluded. Over time the wetland groups adopted pottery, began growing some grain and raising animals while retaining core elements of their original way of life.