One of the biggest ever studies of ancient genomes has found that a Bronze Age 'beaker culture' invaded Britain around 4,000 years ago.
The immigrant group, named after the famous bell-shaped pots they carried, likely forced out native Neolithic farmers.
These ancient British farmers were famed for leaving behind massive rock relics, including Stonehenge.
A Bronze Age 'beaker culture' invaded Britain 4,000 years ago: Intruders forced out ancient farmers that built famous relics such as Stonehenge
New research carried out one of the biggest ever studies of ancient genomes
It found that beaker people forced prehistoric Neolithic farmers out of Britain
DNA analyses found that Britain underwent a 90 per cent shift in its genetic make-up when the beaker folk arrived
By Harry Pettit For Mailonline
18 May 2017
One of the biggest ever studies of ancient genomes has found that a Bronze Age 'beaker culture' invaded Britain around 4,000 years ago.
The immigrant group, named after the famous bell-shaped pots they carried, likely forced out native Neolithic farmers.
These ancient British farmers were famed for leaving behind massive rock relics, including Stonehenge.
Genetic analyses found that Britain underwent a greater than 90 per cent shift in its genetic make-up when the beaker folk arrived.
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This graphic from a beaker folk study in 2007 shows the spread of beaker culture across Europe. Red represents some of the ancient DNA sample sites found, while purple shows bell-shaped beaker artefacts that have been discovered across the continent
'To me, that's definitely surprising,' Dr Pontus Skoglund, a population geneticist at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, who was not involved in the study, told Nature News.
'The people who built Stonehenge probably didn't contribute any ancestry to later people, or if they did, it was very little.'
Around 4,500 years ago bell-shaped pottery became popular across much of prehistoric Europe.
The Bronze Age trend has been debated by archaeologists for over a century.
Some argue that it was simply a fashion trend shared by several distinct cultural groups.
But other suggest that an immense migration of 'beaker folk' spread across the continent.
The new ancient genome research suggests that both theories are true.
The study, led by researchers at Harvard Medical School, analysed the DNA of 170 ancient Europeans.
They compared this DNA to the genomes of hundreds of other modern and prehistoric Europeans.
Ancient skeletons found in the Iberian peninsula were found to share little genetic connection with bones found in central Europe.
This suggests that the beaker craze was not always down to a large, migrating group, but in fact appeared separately in several cultures.
This theory is supported by regional differences found in the ceramics and burial style of beaker cultures in separate regions.
The beaker folk received their name from their distinctive bell-shaped beakers, decorated in horizontal zones by finely toothed stamps. Pictured are two beaker folk vessels discovered in Aberdeen in January
The bones the team analysed from Britain were revealed to be from a distinct, genetically related group that almost completely replaced the island's earlier natives.
This means that a large invasion by at least one group of beaker folk likely drove Britain's neolithic farmers from their land.
So, while the beaker culture across Europe may have sprung up from more than one source, its arrival in Britain was thanks to a single, invading force.
The sheer variety of beaker artefacts across Europe has made the pottery difficult to define as coming from one distinctive culture.
Many researchers prefer to call the spread the ‘Bell Beaker phenomenon’, Dr Marc Vander Linden, an archaeologist at University College London, told Nature.
The distinctive, decorated pots are almost ubiquitous across the continent, and could have been used as drinking vessels or ceremonious urns.
One of the biggest ever studies of ancient genomes has found that a Bronze Age 'beaker culture' invaded Britain around 4,000 years ago. British Neolithic farmers uprooted by the invasion were famed for leaving behind massive rock relics, including Stonehenge
Flint arrowheads, copper daggers and stone wrist guards are common to the beaker culture too.
The immense but intermittent geographical range of beaker sites - from Scandinavia to Morocco, and Ireland to Hungary - has only served to create further confusion.
After a few hundred years, the pots vanish from the record.
The new analysis seems to dispel the theory that the beaker culture originated from a single source, which was originally thought to be Spain.
The study represents just a theory for now and is yet to undergo peer review.
THE BEAKER CULTURE MYSTERY
Beaker folk lived about 4,500 years ago in the temperate zones of Europe.
They received their name from their distinctive bell-shaped beakers, decorated in horizontal zones by finely toothed stamps.
The decorated pots are almost ubiquitous across Europe, and could have been used as drinking vessels or ceremonious urns.
Believed to be originally from Spain, the Beaker folk soon spread into central and western Europe in their search for metals.
But the sheer variety of beaker artefacts across Europe has made the pottery difficult to define as coming from one distinctive culture.
The new study suggests the beaker culture did not always pass from a single migrating entity.
DNA samples from beaker folk in Iberia and Central Europe were found to be genetically distinct.
The immigrant group, named after the famous bell-shaped pots they carried, likely forced out native Neolithic farmers.
These ancient British farmers were famed for leaving behind massive rock relics, including Stonehenge.
A Bronze Age 'beaker culture' invaded Britain 4,000 years ago: Intruders forced out ancient farmers that built famous relics such as Stonehenge
New research carried out one of the biggest ever studies of ancient genomes
It found that beaker people forced prehistoric Neolithic farmers out of Britain
DNA analyses found that Britain underwent a 90 per cent shift in its genetic make-up when the beaker folk arrived
By Harry Pettit For Mailonline
18 May 2017
One of the biggest ever studies of ancient genomes has found that a Bronze Age 'beaker culture' invaded Britain around 4,000 years ago.
The immigrant group, named after the famous bell-shaped pots they carried, likely forced out native Neolithic farmers.
These ancient British farmers were famed for leaving behind massive rock relics, including Stonehenge.
Genetic analyses found that Britain underwent a greater than 90 per cent shift in its genetic make-up when the beaker folk arrived.
This graphic from a beaker folk study in 2007 shows the spread of beaker culture across Europe. Red represents some of the ancient DNA sample sites found, while purple shows bell-shaped beaker artefacts that have been discovered across the continent
'To me, that's definitely surprising,' Dr Pontus Skoglund, a population geneticist at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, who was not involved in the study, told Nature News.
'The people who built Stonehenge probably didn't contribute any ancestry to later people, or if they did, it was very little.'
Around 4,500 years ago bell-shaped pottery became popular across much of prehistoric Europe.
The Bronze Age trend has been debated by archaeologists for over a century.
Some argue that it was simply a fashion trend shared by several distinct cultural groups.
But other suggest that an immense migration of 'beaker folk' spread across the continent.
The new ancient genome research suggests that both theories are true.
The study, led by researchers at Harvard Medical School, analysed the DNA of 170 ancient Europeans.
They compared this DNA to the genomes of hundreds of other modern and prehistoric Europeans.
Ancient skeletons found in the Iberian peninsula were found to share little genetic connection with bones found in central Europe.
This suggests that the beaker craze was not always down to a large, migrating group, but in fact appeared separately in several cultures.
This theory is supported by regional differences found in the ceramics and burial style of beaker cultures in separate regions.
The beaker folk received their name from their distinctive bell-shaped beakers, decorated in horizontal zones by finely toothed stamps. Pictured are two beaker folk vessels discovered in Aberdeen in January
The bones the team analysed from Britain were revealed to be from a distinct, genetically related group that almost completely replaced the island's earlier natives.
This means that a large invasion by at least one group of beaker folk likely drove Britain's neolithic farmers from their land.
So, while the beaker culture across Europe may have sprung up from more than one source, its arrival in Britain was thanks to a single, invading force.
The sheer variety of beaker artefacts across Europe has made the pottery difficult to define as coming from one distinctive culture.
Many researchers prefer to call the spread the ‘Bell Beaker phenomenon’, Dr Marc Vander Linden, an archaeologist at University College London, told Nature.
The distinctive, decorated pots are almost ubiquitous across the continent, and could have been used as drinking vessels or ceremonious urns.
One of the biggest ever studies of ancient genomes has found that a Bronze Age 'beaker culture' invaded Britain around 4,000 years ago. British Neolithic farmers uprooted by the invasion were famed for leaving behind massive rock relics, including Stonehenge
Flint arrowheads, copper daggers and stone wrist guards are common to the beaker culture too.
The immense but intermittent geographical range of beaker sites - from Scandinavia to Morocco, and Ireland to Hungary - has only served to create further confusion.
After a few hundred years, the pots vanish from the record.
The new analysis seems to dispel the theory that the beaker culture originated from a single source, which was originally thought to be Spain.
The study represents just a theory for now and is yet to undergo peer review.
THE BEAKER CULTURE MYSTERY
Beaker folk lived about 4,500 years ago in the temperate zones of Europe.
They received their name from their distinctive bell-shaped beakers, decorated in horizontal zones by finely toothed stamps.
The decorated pots are almost ubiquitous across Europe, and could have been used as drinking vessels or ceremonious urns.
Believed to be originally from Spain, the Beaker folk soon spread into central and western Europe in their search for metals.
But the sheer variety of beaker artefacts across Europe has made the pottery difficult to define as coming from one distinctive culture.
The new study suggests the beaker culture did not always pass from a single migrating entity.
DNA samples from beaker folk in Iberia and Central Europe were found to be genetically distinct.
