Genetic analysis of remains from a megalithic tomb near Bury, 50 kilometers north of Paris, reveals a complete population turnover around 3000 BC. The earlier group shared genetics with northern European farmers, while newcomers arrived from southern France and the Iberian Peninsula. Researchers link the shift to disease, environmental stress, and social changes.
A study examining 132 individuals buried in a large megalithic tomb near Bury uncovered a sharp population decline around 3000 BC. The site was used in two distinct periods, with genetic evidence showing no relation between the groups buried before and after the gap. Researchers from the University of Copenhagen led the analysis, published in Nature Ecology & Evolution. Frederik Valeur Seersholm, an assistant professor at the Globe Institute, stated, 'We see a clear genetic break between the two periods.' The initial population resembled Stone Age farmers from northern France and Germany, while the later one had strong ties to southern regions. Pathogen DNA in the bones pointed to plague bacterium Yersinia pestis and Borrelia recurrentis, causing louse-borne relapsing fever. However, Martin Sikora, the senior author, noted, 'The evidence does not support [plague] as the sole cause of the population collapse.' Skeletal remains indicated high mortality, particularly among children and young adults, described by Laure Salanova of France's CNRS as 'a strong indicator of crisis.' The replacement also transformed burial practices, shifting from extended family groups to a focus on a single male lineage. Seersholm added that this reflected 'a shift in how society was structured.' The findings align with a broader Neolithic decline across northern and western Europe, coinciding with the end of megalith construction.