This Penn State research news article was written about our Nature Communications study showing that the spread of farming across Europe was driven mainly by migrating farmers rather than local hunter-gatherers. Using ancient DNA from 618 individuals and computer simulations, the we found that cultural adoption played only a minimal role, with farmers largely mating within their own groups. The piece illustrates how combining genetics and archaeology can uncover the forces shaping human history.

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The Neolithic Revolution marked the transition from foraging to farming, long debated as a product of cultural diffusion versus demic diffusion. Using mathematical models, agent-based simulations, and ancient DNA analysis, we evaluate the relative roles of cultural transmission and between-group mating in farming’s expansion. Our results reveal limited cultural diffusion, predominantly within-group mating, and challenge the assumption that demic expansion necessarily results in ancestry turnover, offering new insights into early agricultural society.