Roughly 10,000 years ago, humans started shifting from being nomadic hunter-gatherers to building large agricultural settlements, marking one of the greatest transformations in human history. This transition, known as the Neolithic Revolution, began in the Fertile Crescent of the Middle East and led to the spread of farming throughout Europe. For decades, researchers have debated what drove this change. Did farming spread mainly because farmers themselves moved into new lands, or because hunter-gatherers adopted farming practices?
New interdisciplinary research by scientists at Penn State provides the clearest answer to date. Using mathematical models, computer simulations, and ancient DNA analysis, the team was able to measure how migration and cultural adoption each contributed to the expansion of farming. Their findings, published this week (Aug. 25) in Nature Communications, show that migration of farming groups was the dominant factor, while cultural adoption by hunter-gatherers only played a minimal role.
"Archaeology and genetics offer complementary windows onto this transition," explained Christian Huber, assistant professor of biology at Penn State and senior author on the paper. "For example, artifacts and isotopes in ancient bones can reveal whether a person relied on domesticated plants or animals, reflecting the adoption of new farming practices. At the same time, DNA preserved in those bones can show where people's ancestors came from, providing evidence of migration, or the movement of farming populations into new regions."
