Document type
ArticleVersion
Published versionPublication date
Publication license
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/59233
Mitochondrial DNA from El Mirador cave (Atapuerca, Spain) reveals the heterogeneity of Chalcolithic populations.
Journal Title
Director/Tutor
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Related resource
Abstract
Previous mitochondrial DNA analyses on ancient European remains have suggested that the current distribution of haplogroup H was modeled by the expansion of the Bell Beaker culture (ca 4,500-4,050 years BP) out of Iberia during the Chalcolithic period. However, little is known on the genetic composition of contemporaneous Iberian populations that do not carry the archaeological tool kit defining this culture. Here we have retrieved mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences from 19 individuals from a Chalcolithic sample from El Mirador cave in Spain, dated to 4,760-4,200 years BP and we have analyzed the haplogroup composition in the context of modern and ancient populations. Regarding extant African, Asian and European populations, El Mirador shows affinities with Near Eastern groups. In different analyses with other ancient samples, El Mirador clusters with Middle and Late Neolithic populations from Germany, belonging to the Rossen, the Salzmunde and the Baalberge archaeological cultures but not with contemporaneous Bell Beakers. Our analyses support the existence of a common genetic signal between Western and Central Europe during the Middle and Late Neolithic and points to a heterogeneous genetic landscape among Chalcolithic groups.
Subject (English)
Citation
Citation
GÓMEZ-SÁNCHEZ, Daniel, et al. Mitochondrial DNA from El Mirador cave (Atapuerca, Spain) reveals the heterogeneity of Chalcolithic populations. PLoS One. 2014. Vol. 9, num. 8. ISSN 1932-6203. [consulted: 14 of June of 2026]. Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/59233