The newresearchusesdatafroma 2018study,whichis stillthe largestanalysisof ancient DNAfrom Britain ever conducted,thatidentifieda >90% replacement of the genetic ancestry of people living in Britain between 2500-2100 BC. Thiscoincidedwith the introduction of Beakermaterial culture and burialpractices,andwas interpreted to indicatethat there were substantial movements of people into Britain from continental Europe during this period.

At the time it was published,popular coverage of the original studyspeculatedthat this wasa rapidevent, potentially involving invasionby male warriors, butthe new study has foundfromdetailed analysis that it was more likely a long-term process, taking place over maybe 10-16 generations,withboth men and women moving for a variety of reasons thatmight haveincluded exchange, pilgrimage, and the pasturing of animals.Incoming populationsand their descendants tended to bury their dead, but local groups probably continued to cremate their dead, which destroys the DNA, or treatthemin ways which leavenorecord.Thearchaeologically invisiblelocalpopulationare only seenwhen they have children with groups who buried their dead. Thismay be partly responsible for why this change in ancestryappearedso rapidat first.

Dr Tom Booth, archaeologist at The Francis Crick Institute has said: Initially it looks like groups of locals and incomers and their descendants lived in parallel with one anotherto some extent occupying the same landscapes, slowly integrating and only having children with each other infrequently.After around 300 yearsthey start having children together more liberally itsat this point, the older population then have a much lower genetic legacyoverall.Why they have such a small overall genetic legacy is still a mystery. It could be thattherejust werent so many people living in Britain at the time these Beaker groups move in from continental Europe.

ProfIanBarnes, Researcher and Division Lead at the Natural History Museum has said:Anissue we face is that wealsodont know how many people there were from either group,althoughpopulation size may be declining inthe localpopulation of Britain at the end of Neolithic. It may be that the reason whywe seem to pick up so many genetic relatives in the Bronze Ageis becauseonly small groups of people were moving into Britain.

The new study also highlights how genetic ties were referenced variably in death among burials in the Stonehenge landscape.A man and his juvenile son were buried next to one another in a cemetery on Amesbury Down.By contrast, aman, hisnephewand his nephews daughter were buried across three different cemeteries separated by severalkilometres.A young man was buried on Boscombe Down with the skull of his paternal cousin or half-brother at his feet.

Prof. JoannaBrck, archaeologist at University College Dublin, said: Existing interpretations of the genetic evidence paint a picture of a patriarchal society, in which male immigrants married localwomen. Our research shows that although links with paternal relatives were important, kinship organization was variable, and other relationships, including with maternal kin, were also significant.Sometimes, people who were not genetically related to each other could also be viewed as kin.

The study found that it is likely there was cultural exchange between existing local groups and incomers.Dr Booth continues Even though they have no ancestry from the older population, they incorporatetheir monuments into their belief systems very quickly. They are burying people in these areas to reference these monuments as prestigious areas to bury their dead even though itwasnttheir genetic ancestors who built them.Stonehengeand its surrounding landscapeareemblematic to a certain extent because its important toallgroups in this period and when theyintegrate,it maintains its importance.

The paper was published inCambridge Archaeological Journal on 11 February 2021.

Notes foreditors

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Experts discover new information on cultural exchange between different genetic groups and burials of close genetic relatives in the Stonehenge...

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