title: Between the Baltic and Danubian Worlds: the genetic affinities of a Middle Neolithic population from central Poland.
abstract: For a long time, anthropological and genetic research on the Neolithic revolution in Europe was mainly concentrated on the mechanism of agricultural dispersal over different parts of the continent. Recently, attention has shifted towards population processes that occurred after the arrival of the first farmers, transforming the genetically very distinctive early Neolithic Linear Pottery Culture (LBK) and Mesolithic forager populations into present-day Central Europeans. The latest studies indicate that significant changes in this respect took place within the post-Linear Pottery cultures of the Early and Middle Neolithic which were a bridge between the allochthonous LBK and the first indigenous Neolithic culture of north-central Europe--the Funnel Beaker culture (TRB). The paper presents data on mtDNA haplotypes of a Middle Neolithic population dated to 4700/4600-4100/4000 BC belonging to the Brześć Kujawski Group of the Lengyel culture (BKG) from the Kuyavia region in north-central Poland. BKG communities constituted the border of the "Danubian World" in this part of Europe for approx. seven centuries, neighboring foragers of the North European Plain and the southern Baltic basin. MtDNA haplogroups were determined in 11 individuals, and four mtDNA macrohaplogroups were found (H, U5, T, and HV0). The overall haplogroup pattern did not deviate from other post-Linear Pottery populations from central Europe, although a complete lack of N1a and the presence of U5a are noteworthy. Of greatest importance is the observed link between the BKG and the TRB horizon, confirmed by an independent analysis of the craniometric variation of Mesolithic and Neolithic populations inhabiting central Europe. Estimated phylogenetic pattern suggests significant contribution of the post-Linear BKG communities to the origin of the subsequent Middle Neolithic cultures, such as the TRB.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Łódź, Łódź, Poland.
authors.forename: Wiesław
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lorkiewicz
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Medical University of Łódź, Łódź, Poland.
authors.forename: Tomasz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Płoszaj
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Medical University of Łódź, Łódź, Poland.
authors.forename: Krystyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jędrychowska-Dańska
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Łódź, Łódź, Poland.
authors.forename: Elżbieta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Żądzińska
authors.affiliation: Biobank Lab, Department of Molecular Biophysics, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Łódź, Łódź, Poland.
authors.forename: Dominik
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Strapagiel
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Biology and Earth Sciences, Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Kraków, Poland.
authors.forename: Elżbieta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Haduch
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Biology and Earth Sciences, Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Kraków, Poland.
authors.forename: Anita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Szczepanek
authors.affiliation: Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography in Łódź, Łódź, Poland.
authors.forename: Ryszard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Grygiel
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Medical University of Łódź, Łódź, Poland.
authors.forename: Henryk W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Witas
mesh_terms: D002910:Chronology as Topic; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000235:genetics* / Q000266:history; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005828:Genetics, Population; D005838:Genotype; D005843:Geography; D006239:Haplotypes; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D011044:Poland / Q000208:ethnology; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial