Large-scale migration into Britain during the Middle to Late Bronze Age

Patterson, Nick; Isakov, Michael; Booth, Thomas; Bà¼ster, Lindsey; Fischer, Claire-Elise; Olalde, Ià±igo; Ringbauer, Harald; Akbari, Ali; Cheronet, Olivia; Bleasdale, Madeleine; Adamski, Nicole; Altena, Eveline; Bernardos, Rebecca; Brace, Selina; Broomandkhoshbacht, Nasreen; Callan, Kimberly; Candilio, Francesca; Culleton, Brendan; Curtis, Elizabeth; Demetz, Lea

Large-scale migration into Britain during the Middle to Late Bronze Age

Resource type

Journal article

Creator (person)

Patterson, Nick

Isakov, Michael

ORCID

Booth, Thomas

Bà¼ster, Lindsey

ORCID

Fischer, Claire-Elise

Olalde, Ià±igo

ORCID

Ringbauer, Harald

Akbari, Ali

Cheronet, Olivia

ORCID

Bleasdale, Madeleine

Adamski, Nicole

Altena, Eveline

ORCID

Bernardos, Rebecca

ORCID

Brace, Selina

ORCID

Broomandkhoshbacht, Nasreen

ORCID

Callan, Kimberly

ORCID

Candilio, Francesca

Culleton, Brendan

Curtis, Elizabeth

Demetz, Lea

Carlson, Kellie Sara Duffett

Edwards, Ceiridwen J.

Fernandes, Daniel M.

Foody, M. George B.

Freilich, Suzanne

Goodchild, Helen

Kearns, Aisling

Lawson, Ann Marie

ORCID

Lazaridis, Iosif

ORCID

Mah, Matthew

ORCID

Mallick, Swapan

Mandl, Kirsten

Micco, Adam

Michel, Megan

Morante, Guillermo Bravo

Oppenheimer, Jonas

à–zdoÄŸan, Kadir Toykan

Qiu, Lijun

Schattke, Constanze

Stewardson, Kristin

Workman, J. Noah

Zalzala, Fatma

Zhang, Zhao

Agustà, Bibiana

Allen, Tim

Almà¡ssy, Katalin

Amkreutz, Luc

ORCID

Ash, Abigail

Baillif-Ducros, Christèle

ORCID

Barclay, Alistair

Bartosiewicz, Là¡szlà³

Baxter, Katherine

Bernert, Zsolt

BlaÅ¾ek, Jan

BodruÅ¾iÄ‡, Mario

ORCID

Boissinot, Philippe

Bonsall, Clive

Bradley, Pippa

Brittain, Marcus

Brookes, Alison

Brown, Fraser

Brown, Lisa

Brunning, Richard

ORCID

Budd, Chelsea

Burmaz, Josip

Canet, Sylvain

Carnicero-Cà¡ceres, Silvia

ÄŒauÅ¡eviÄ‡-Bully, Morana

Chamberlain, Andrew

ORCID

Chauvin, Sébastien

Clough, Sharon

ORCID

ÄŒondiÄ‡, Natalija

Coppa, Alfredo

ORCID

Craig, Oliver

ORCID

ÄŒreÅ¡nar, Matija

Cummings, Vicki

ORCID

Czifra, Szabolcs

ORCID

Danielisovà¡, AlÅ¾bÄ›ta

Daniels, Robin

Davies, Alex

de Jersey, Philip

Deacon, Jody

Deminger, Csilla

Ditchfield, Peter W.

Dizdar, Marko

DobeÅ¡, Miroslav

Dobisàkovà¡, MiluÅ¡e

Domborà³czki, Là¡szlà³

Drinkall, Gail

Ä ukiÄ‡, Ana

Ernée, Michal

ORCID

Evans, Christopher

Evans, Jane

Fernà¡ndez-Gà¶tz, Manuel

FilipoviÄ‡, Slavica

Fitzpatrick, Andrew

Fokkens, Harry

ORCID

Fowler, Chris

ORCID

Fox, Allison

Gallina, Zsolt

Gamble, Michelle

Gonzà¡lez Morales, Manuel R.

Gonzà¡lez-Rabanal, Borja

ORCID

Green, Adrian

Gyenesei, Katalin

ORCID

Habermehl, Diederick

Hajdu, Tamà¡s

Hamilton, Derek

Harris, James

Hayden, Chris

Hendriks, Joep

Hernu, Bénédicte

Hey, Gill

HorÅˆà¡k, Milan

Ilon, Gà¡bor

Istvà¡novits, Eszter

Jones, Andy M.

ORCID

Kavur, Martina BleÄ iÄ‡

Kazek, Kevin

Kenyon, Robert A.

Khreisheh, Amal

Kiss, Viktà³ria

Kleijne, Jos

ORCID

Knight, Mark

Kootker, Lisette M.

ORCID

Kovà¡cs, Péter F.

Kozubovà¡, Anita

Kulcsà¡r, Gabriella

Kulcsà¡r, Valéria

Le Pennec, Christophe

Legge, Michael

Leivers, Matt

Loe, Louise

Là³pez-Costas, Olalla

Lord, Tom

Los, DÅ¾eni

Lyall, James

Maràn-Arroyo, Ana B.

Mason, Philip

MatoÅ¡eviÄ‡, Damir

Maxted, Andy

McIntyre, Lauren

McKinley, Jacqueline

McSweeney, Kathleen

Meijlink, Bernard

Mende, Balà¡zs G.

MenÄ‘uÅ¡iÄ‡, Marko

MetliÄ ka, Milan

Meyer, Sophie

MihoviliÄ‡, Kristina

Milasinovic, Lidija

Minnitt, Steve

Moore, Joanna

ORCID

Morley, Geoff

Mullan, Graham

Musilovà¡, Margaréta

Neil, Benjamin

Nicholls, Rebecca

Novak, Mario

ORCID

Pala, Maria

Papworth, Martin

Paresys, Cécile

Patten, Ricky

PerkiÄ‡, Domagoj

Pesti, Krisztina

Petit, Alba

PetriÅ¡Ä à¡kovà¡, Kataràna

ORCID

Pichon, Coline

Pickard, Catriona

Pilling, Zoltà¡n

Price, T. Douglas

ORCID

RadoviÄ‡, SiniÅ¡a

ORCID

Redfern, Rebecca

Resutàk, Branislav

Rhodes, Daniel T.

Richards, Martin B.

ORCID

Roberts, Amy

Roefstra, Jean

Sankot, Pavel

Å efÄ à¡kovà¡, Alena

Sheridan, Alison

ORCID

Skae, Sabine

Å molàkovà¡, Miroslava

Somogyi, Krisztina

Somogyvà¡ri, à gnes

Stephens, Mark

Szabà³, Géza

Szécsényi-Nagy, Anna

Szeniczey, Tamà¡s

Tabor, Jonathan

Tankà³, Kà¡roly

Maria, Clenis Tavarez

Terry, Rachel

TerÅ¾an, Biba

Teschler-Nicola, Maria

Torres-Martànez, Jesàºs F.

Trapp, Julien

Turle, Ross

Ujvà¡ri, Ferenc

van der Heiden, Menno

Veleminsky, Petr

ORCID

Veselka, Barbara

VytlaÄ il, ZdenÄ›k

Waddington, Clive

Ware, Paula

Wilkinson, Paul

Wilson, Linda

Wiseman, Rob

Young, Eilidh

ZaninoviÄ‡, JoÅ¡ko

Å½itÅˆan, Andrej

Lalueza-Fox, Carles

ORCID

de Knijff, Peter

ORCID

Barnes, Ian

ORCID

Halkon, Peter

Thomas, Mark G.

ORCID

Kennett, Douglas J.

ORCID

Cunliffe, Barry

Lillie, Malcolm

ORCID

Rohland, Nadin

Pinhasi, Ron

ORCID

Armit, Ian

Reich, David

ORCID

Date published

January 27, 2022

Abstract

Present-day people from England and Wales have more ancestry derived from early European farmers (EEF) than did people of the Early Bronze Age1. To understand this, here we generated genome-wide data from 793 individuals, increasing data from the Middle to the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age in Britain by 12-fold, and western and central Europe by 3.5-fold. Between 1000 and 875 bc, EEF ancestry increased in southern Britain (England and Wales) but not northern Britain (Scotland) due to incorporation of migrants who arrived at this time and over previous centuries, and who were genetically most similar to ancient individuals from France. These migrants contributed about half the ancestry of people of England and Wales from the Iron Age, thereby creating a plausible vector for the spread of early Celtic languages into Britain. These patterns are part of a broader trend of EEF ancestry becoming more similar across central and western Europe in the Middle to the Late Bronze Age, coincident with archaeological evidence of intensified cultural exchange2–6. There was comparatively less gene flow from continental Europe during the Iron Age, and the independent genetic trajectory in Britain is also reflected in the rise of the allele conferring lactase persistence to approximately 50% by this time compared to approximately 7% in central Europe where it rose rapidly in frequency only a millennium later. This suggests that dairy products were used in qualitatively different ways in Britain and in central Europe over this period.