Genomic history of Neolithic to Bronze Age Anatolia, Northern Levant, and Southern Caucasus

Here, we report genome-wide data analyses from 110 ancient Near Eastern individuals spanning the Late Neolithic to Late Bronze Age, a period characterized by intense interregional interactions for the Near East. We find that 6th millennium BCE populations of North/Central Anatolia and the Southern Caucasus shared mixed ancestry on a genetic cline that formed during the Neolithic between Western Anatolia and regions in today’s Southern Caucasus/Zagros. During the Late Chalcolithic and/or the Early Bronze Age, more than half of the Northern Levantine gene pool was replaced, while in the rest of Anatolia and the Southern Caucasus, we document genetic continuity with only transient gene flow. Additionally, we reveal a genetically distinct individual within the Late Bronze Age Northern Levant. Overall, our study uncovers multiple scales of population dynamics through time, from extensive admixture during the Neolithic period to long-distance mobility within the globalized societies of the Late Bronze Age. Video Abstract- Introduction - Results -- Sample Corpus and Data Compilation -- The Late Neolithic/Early Chalcolithic Genetic Structure in Anatolia, Northern Levant, and Caucasian Lowlands -- Neolithic Admixture and a Common Genetic Profile of Chalcolithic and Bronze Age Groups -- Admixture Modeling of the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age Groups -- Genetic Turnover in the Bronze Age Northern Levant -- Evidence for Individual Mobility in Alalakh - Discussion -- Genetic Homogenization across Anatolia and the Southern Caucasus prior to the Bronze Age -- Population and Territorial State Dynamics in the Northern Levant -- Conclusions STAR★Method