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Repeated plague infections across six generations of Neolithic Farmers.
- Source :
-
Nature [Nature] 2024 Aug; Vol. 632 (8023), pp. 114-121. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jul 10. - Publication Year :
- 2024
-
Abstract
- In the period between 5,300 and 4,900 calibrated years before present (cal. BP), populations across large parts of Europe underwent a period of demographic decline <superscript>1,2</superscript> . However, the cause of this so-called Neolithic decline is still debated. Some argue for an agricultural crisis resulting in the decline <superscript>3</superscript> , others for the spread of an early form of plague <superscript>4</superscript> . Here we use population-scale ancient genomics to infer ancestry, social structure and pathogen infection in 108 Scandinavian Neolithic individuals from eight megalithic graves and a stone cist. We find that the Neolithic plague was widespread, detected in at least 17% of the sampled population and across large geographical distances. We demonstrate that the disease spread within the Neolithic community in three distinct infection events within a period of around 120 years. Variant graph-based pan-genomics shows that the Neolithic plague genomes retained ancestral genomic variation present in Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, including virulence factors associated with disease outcomes. In addition, we reconstruct four multigeneration pedigrees, the largest of which consists of 38 individuals spanning six generations, showing a patrilineal social organization. Lastly, we document direct genomic evidence for Neolithic female exogamy in a woman buried in a different megalithic tomb than her brothers. Taken together, our findings provide a detailed reconstruction of plague spread within a large patrilineal kinship group and identify multiple plague infections in a population dated to the beginning of the Neolithic decline.<br /> (© 2024. The Author(s).)
- Subjects :
- Female
Humans
Male
Cemeteries history
Genome, Bacterial genetics
History, Ancient
Phylogeny
Scandinavian and Nordic Countries epidemiology
Time Factors
Virulence Factors genetics
Farmers history
Genomics
Pedigree
Plague epidemiology
Plague history
Plague microbiology
Plague mortality
Population Dynamics
Yersinia pestis genetics
Yersinia pestis isolation & purification
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1476-4687
- Volume :
- 632
- Issue :
- 8023
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Nature
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 38987589
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07651-2