The forces that propelled its expansion are a matter of long-standing debate, and there is support for both cultural diffusion and migration having a role in this process. The scientists, led by anthropologist Ron Pinhasi from the University of Vienna, were able to show that the large-scale dissemination of the "Bell Beaker culture" at the transition between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age took place both through the transmission of ideas and through migration. The study is currently published on the cover of the journal Nature. [read more]
David Reich, Ron Pinhasi, Wolgang Haak, et al.: The Beaker phenomenon and the genomic transformation of northwest Europe. Nature: DOI: 10.1038/nature25738
