New genetic analysis reveals close interactions between Europe's early farmers and hunter-gatherers, with women driving the spread of farming in northwestern regions. Later migrations reshaped populations as far as Britain.
Researchers analyzed ancient DNA from sites in Belgium and the Netherlands along the Rhine-Meuse area. The study found that later Neolithic people there carried at least 50 percent local hunter-gatherer ancestry mixed with Anatolian farmer roots. Y chromosomes matched hunter-gatherer lines, while three-quarters of mitochondrial DNA came from southern farming groups, indicating women moved into forager communities through marriage and alliances.