title: The Demographic Development of the First Farmers in Anatolia.
abstract: The archaeological documentation of the development of sedentary farming societies in Anatolia is not yet mirrored by a genetic understanding of the human populations involved, in contrast to the spread of farming in Europe [1-3]. Sedentary farming communities emerged in parts of the Fertile Crescent during the tenth millennium and early ninth millennium calibrated (cal) BC and had appeared in central Anatolia by 8300 cal BC [4]. Farming spread into west Anatolia by the early seventh millennium cal BC and quasi-synchronously into Europe, although the timing and process of this movement remain unclear. Using genome sequence data that we generated from nine central Anatolian Neolithic individuals, we studied the transition period from early Aceramic (Pre-Pottery) to the later Pottery Neolithic, when farming expanded west of the Fertile Crescent. We find that genetic diversity in the earliest farmers was conspicuously low, on a par with European foraging groups. With the advent of the Pottery Neolithic, genetic variation within societies reached levels later found in early European farmers. Our results confirm that the earliest Neolithic central Anatolians belonged to the same gene pool as the first Neolithic migrants spreading into Europe. Further, genetic affinities between later Anatolian farmers and fourth to third millennium BC Chalcolithic south Europeans suggest an additional wave of Anatolian migrants, after the initial Neolithic spread but before the Yamnaya-related migrations. We propose that the earliest farming societies demographically resembled foragers and that only after regional gene flow and rising heterogeneity did the farming population expansions into Europe occur.
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, Middle East Technical University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey; Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18C, 75236, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors: Gülşah Merve
authors: GM
authors: Kılınç
authors: Department of Archaeology and Classical Studies, Stockholm University, Lilla Frescativaegen 7, 114 18 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors: Ayça
authors: A
authors: Omrak
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, Middle East Technical University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey.
authors: Füsun
authors: F
authors: Özer
authors: Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18C, 75236, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors: Torsten
authors: T
authors: Günther
authors: Department of Anthropology, Hacettepe University, Beytepe, 06800 Ankara, Turkey.
authors: Ali Metin
authors: AM
authors: Büyükkarakaya
authors: Department of Prehistory, Istanbul University, Laleli, 34134 Istanbul, Turkey.
authors: Erhan
authors: E
authors: Bıçakçı
authors: Department of Archaeology, Classics, and Egyptology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7WZ, UK.
authors: Douglas
authors: D
authors: Baird
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, Middle East Technical University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey.
authors: Handan Melike
authors: HM
authors: Dönertaş
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, Middle East Technical University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey.
authors: Ayshin
authors: A
authors: Ghalichi
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, Middle East Technical University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey.
authors: Reyhan
authors: R
authors: Yaka
authors: Department of Health Informatics, Middle East Technical University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey.
authors: Dilek
authors: D
authors: Koptekin
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, Middle East Technical University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey.
authors: Sinan Can
authors: SC
authors: Açan
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, Middle East Technical University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey.
authors: Poorya
authors: P
authors: Parvizi
authors: Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18C, 75236, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors: Maja
authors: M
authors: Krzewińska
authors: Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18C, 75236, Uppsala, Sweden; Department of Archaeology and Classical Studies, Stockholm University, Lilla Frescativaegen 7, 114 18 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors: Evangelia A
authors: EA
authors: Daskalaki
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, Middle East Technical University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey.
authors: Eren
authors: E
authors: Yüncü
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, Middle East Technical University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey.
authors: Nihan Dilşad
authors: ND
authors: Dağtaş
authors: School of Social Science, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.
authors: Andrew
authors: A
authors: Fairbairn
authors: Department of Archaeology, Classics, and Egyptology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7WZ, UK.
authors: Jessica
authors: J
authors: Pearson
authors: Department of Archaeology, Bülent Ecevit University, 67100 İncivez, Zonguldak, Turkey.
authors: Gökhan
authors: G
authors: Mustafaoğlu
authors: Department of Anthropology, Hacettepe University, Beytepe, 06800 Ankara, Turkey.
authors: Yılmaz Selim
authors: YS
authors: Erdal
authors: Department of Prehistory, Istanbul University, Laleli, 34134 Istanbul, Turkey.
authors: Yasin Gökhan
authors: YG
authors: Çakan
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, Middle East Technical University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey. Electronic address: togan@metu.edu.tr.
authors: İnci
authors: İ
authors: Togan
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, Middle East Technical University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey. Electronic address: msomel@metu.edu.tr.
authors: Mehmet
authors: M
authors: Somel
authors: Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18C, 75236, Uppsala, Sweden. Electronic address: jan.stora@ofl.su.se.
authors: Jan
authors: J
authors: Storå
authors: Department of Archaeology and Classical Studies, Stockholm University, Lilla Frescativaegen 7, 114 18 Stockholm, Sweden. Electronic address: mattias.jakobsson@ebc.uu.se.
authors: Mattias
authors: M
authors: Jakobsson
authors: Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18C, 75236, Uppsala, Sweden. Electronic address: anders.gotherstrom@arklab.su.se.
authors: Anders
authors: A
authors: Götherström
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D001106:Archaeology; D000067565:Farmers; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D014421:Turkey
keywords: Anatolia; Neolithic; ancient DNA; archaeogenomics; genetic diversity; population genetics