A genomic snapshot of demographic and cultural dynamism in Upper Mesopotamia during the Neolithic Transition
Upper Mesopotamia played a key role in the Neolithic Transition in Southwest Asia through marked innovations in symbolism, technology, and foodways. Here we present thirteen ancient genomes (c.8500-7500 calBCE) from Pre-Pottery Neolithic Çayönü in the Tigris basin, which we study together with bioarchaeological and material culture data. We find that Çayönü was a diverse population, carried mixed ancestry from western and eastern Fertile Crescent, and that the community received immigrants. Our results show that the Çayönü society was likely organised along biological family lines. It was also open to cultural innovation, including bodily interventions such as head-shaping and cauterization. Finally, we identify Upper Mesopotamia as the likely source of eastern gene flow into Neolithic Anatolia, in line with material culture evidence. We hypothesise that Upper Mesopotamia's cultural dynamism during the Neolithic Transition was the product not only of its fertile lands but also of its interregional demographic connections.