UPPSALA, SWEDEN—Scientists from Stockholm University and Uppsala University led an international team in the analysis of DNA samples taken from 11 individuals unearthed in Scandinavia. Their results indicate that Neolithic farmers assimilated local hunter-gatherers. “Stone-Age hunter-gatherers had much lower genetic diversity than farmers. This suggests that Stone-Age foraging groups were in low numbers compared to farmers,” Mattias Jakobsson of Uppsala University told Science Daily. The study also shows that the two groups had been genetically distinct. “We see clear evidence that people from hunter-gatherer groups were incorporated into farming groups as they expanded across Europe. This might be clues towards something that happened also when agriculture spread in other parts of the world,” added Pontus Skoglund.
