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Hunter-gatherer genetic persistence at the onset of megalithism in western Iberia: New mitochondrial evidence from Mesolithic and Neolithic necropolises in central-southern Portugal

Carvalho, António Faustino; Fernández-Domínguez, Eva; Arroyo-Pardo, Eduardo; Robinson, Catherine; Cardoso, João Luís; Zilhão, João; Gomes, Mário Varela

Hunter-gatherer genetic persistence at the onset of megalithism in western Iberia: New mitochondrial evidence from Mesolithic and Neolithic necropolises in central-southern Portugal Thumbnail


Authors

António Faustino Carvalho

Eduardo Arroyo-Pardo

Catherine Robinson

João Luís Cardoso

João Zilhão

Mário Varela Gomes



Abstract

Despite its strategic importance at the furthermost edge of the Neolithic expansion in Europe, archaeogenetic data from Mesolithic and Neolithic human remains from Portugal are still very limited. Here we present ancient mtDNA evidence (mostly unpublished) to fill the gap and discuss the pattern of “genetic resurgence” of hunter-gatherer (Mesolithic) ancestry, widely reported elsewhere in Europe, among the first megalith builders (Middle Neolithic) of western Iberia. A total of 11 Mesolithic and Neolithic necropolises located in the central and southern regions of Portugal dated to ca. 6200–3000 BC were studied. These sites comprise all Mesolithic–Neolithic cultural stages and include several funerary architectures and spaces. Reproducible mtDNA HVRI haplotypes were obtained from 23 individuals from six different archaeological sites spread across a >3000-year transect, from the Late Mesolithic to the Late Neolithic. Our results support a three-stage explanatory demographic and populational model: i) local hunter-gatherer populations constituted a highly homogeneous genetic pool; ii) the first farming practices were introduced by human groups carrying new, extraneous haplogroups and exhibiting the signature of admixture events occurring at the time of first contact with local hunter-gatherers; iii) the genetic pattern detected among the megalith-building populations, showing hunter-gatherer along with farming ancestry, may be explained by the segmentary principles, and attendant endogamic practices, that structured Neolithic societies.

Citation

Carvalho, A. F., Fernández-Domínguez, E., Arroyo-Pardo, E., Robinson, C., Cardoso, J. L., Zilhão, J., & Gomes, M. V. (2023). Hunter-gatherer genetic persistence at the onset of megalithism in western Iberia: New mitochondrial evidence from Mesolithic and Neolithic necropolises in central-southern Portugal. Quaternary International, 677–678, 111-120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2023.03.015

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Mar 21, 2023
Online Publication Date Mar 30, 2023
Publication Date Dec 20, 2023
Deposit Date Apr 13, 2023
Publicly Available Date Jul 3, 2023
Journal Quaternary International
Print ISSN 1040-6182
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 677–678
Pages 111-120
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2023.03.015
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1176099

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