Lasting Lower Rhine–Meuse forager ancestry shaped Bell Beaker expansion

Lasting Lower Rhine–Meuse forager ancestry shaped Bell Beaker expansion

Ancient DNA studies revealed that, in Europe from 6500 to 4000 bce, descendants of western Anatolian farmers mixed with local hunter-gatherers resulting in 70–100% ancestry turnover1, then steppe ancestry spread with the Corded Ware complex 3000–2500 bce2. Here we document an exception in the wetland, riverine and coastal areas of the Netherlands, Belgium and western Germany, using genome-wide data from 112 people 8500–1700 bce. A distinctive pop