How Barbarian
Demography and life histories across the Roman frontier in Germany 400–700 CE
Jens Blöcher et al.
Nature, forthcoming
Abstract:
The emergence of new political and social structures in Western and Central Europe during the transition from Antiquity to the Middle Ages has long been attributed to large-scale migrations. Yet emerging evidence increasingly emphasizes the role of small-group mobility in reshaping the Roman world. Here we present 258 ancient genomes from the former Roman frontier of southern Germany, which we analyse alongside 2,500 ancient and 379 modern genomes. Population genetic analyses reveal a major demographic shift coinciding with the late fifth century collapse of Roman state structures, when a founding population of northern European ancestry mixed with genetically diverse Roman provincial groups. Pedigree reconstruction and filia, a method for inferring the ancestry of unsampled relatives, indicate widespread intermarriage and minimal cultural differentiation. Genetic structure persisted through the sixth century, with admixture forming a population resembling modern Central Europeans by the early seventh century. Using Chronograph to refine the chronology of genealogically linked individuals, we estimate a generation time of 28 years, life expectancies of 39.8 years for women and 43.3 years for men, high infant mortality, and a society in which nearly one quarter of children lost at least one parent by age 10, yet most still grew up with grandparents. Pedigrees further reveal a society centred on nuclear families that practiced lifelong monogamy, strict incest avoidance, flexible lineage continuation and no levirate unions, indicating continuity with Late Roman social practices that later shaped the European family.
Fifteen thousand years of bioarchaeological data reveal life history trade-offs among Europe’s first farmers
Eóin Parkinson
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 28 April 2026
Abstract:
This paper examines human life history evolution across the transition to agriculture in Europe through an integrated analysis of growth, diet, activity, and demography. Life history theory considers how organisms allocate energy toward defense, reproduction, maintenance, and growth, and how such functions trade-off against each other in response to ecological constraints and is therefore fundamental to understanding human adaptation to social, economic, and cultural change. Through analysis of large datasets of estimated body size (n = 3007 individuals), long bone robusticity (n = 2150 individuals), carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotopes (n = 30,937 individuals), and radiocarbon dates (n = 60,197) to directly test: 1) whether the demographic expansion associated with early farming coincided with a decline in body size; 2) whether long-term patterns in demography, skeletal growth, and diet differ between southern and northern Europe in ways that reflect region-specific life history trade-offs. The results reveal 1) that a population “boom” among early farmers (~8,500 BP) coincided with reduced body size, consistent with a shift in life history strategies that prioritized reproduction over skeletal growth; 2) divergent trends in body size and diet between northern and southern Europe suggest region-specific adaptations, with a growth–reproduction trade-off more evident in the south. Framed within broader patterns of human health, physical activity, and genetic turnover, the work underscores how early farming in Europe is best understood as a complex process of trade-offs that can be elucidated through analysis of bioarchaeological data within a life history framework.
The impact of subsistence change on demography: Theory-informed Approximate Bayesian Computation reveals 4-fold increase in carrying capacity following economic intensification
Kurt Wilson et al.
Journal of Archaeological Science, May 2026
Abstract:
Subsistence intensification is a major process in human history, however, quantifying its effects on demography is challenging given uncertainties regarding timing, population reconstructions, and ecological conditions. To help address these issues, we combine advances in ecological theory with Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) to generate a replicable, theory-informed, computational model for quantifying the effects of intensification on past population dynamics. Using the Colorado Plateau and Great Basin as case studies, we demonstrate how this ABC approach can 1) identify the timing of the adoption of intensified strategies to 2100 ± 117 and 2174 ± 395 cal BP, 2) show that intensification increased landscape carrying capacities by 4.1 ± 1 and 4.2 ± 1.9-fold, and 3) suggest that the process of intensification ranged over periods of 970 ± 244 and 1473 ± 416 years. In addition, the ABC method provides support for a core assumption of the ‘dates as data’ approach as only models built with simulated date sampling proportional to past population sizes are capable of matching observed output. Subsistence intensification has been tied to state formation, violence, inequality, sedentism, and numerous other influential phenomena. Our findings align with other prehistoric estimates from Europe and Africa to further suggest even this relatively small carrying capacity change coincides with significant social effects.
Faunal exploitation at the elephant hunting site of Lehringen, Germany, 125,000 years ago
Ivo Verheijen et al.
Scientific Reports, March 2026
Abstract:
The site of Lehringen (Germany) has played a pivotal role in the study of the hunting behavior of Neanderthals. The finding of a 2.38 m long wooden thrusting spear was at the time of discovery in 1948 the only complete Palaeolithic hunting tool, dating back to the last interglacial, approximately 125 ka. The interrelation of the thrusting spear with the skeleton of a straight-tusked elephant has both been interpreted as direct evidence of hunting, or as a coincidental association. Here we report on results of the first systematic analysis of the faunal assemblage of the site including the remains of the straight-tusked elephant. Cut marks on several ribs and vertebrae of the elephant show that the animal was defleshed and probably eviscerated in a rather fresh state, indicating early access to the carcass by Neanderthals. Additionally, remains of aurochs, brown bear, and beaver show signs of butchery. It demonstrates that Neanderthals of the last interglacial at the northern limits of their known distribution were exploiting a wide range of animals on different occasions, including the largest prey of that time. In conclusion, Lehringen represents the most convincing Neanderthal site with evidence of a successful elephant hunt with a thrusting spear and demonstrates opportunistic hunting behavior during the Eemian.
The influence of cognitive evolution on handaxe making skill in the Acheulean
Antoine Muller et al.
Journal of Archaeological Science, May 2026
Abstract:
Reconstructing the complex human behaviours that manifest in the Palaeolithic archaeological record remains an elusive but important challenge for capturing traces of how the human mind evolved. The roughly 1.5 million years of handaxe-making throughout the Acheulean provides a consistently preserved manifestation of hominin technological skills. Here, we analyse 1108 3D scans of handaxes from 12 sites in the Great Rift Valley of eastern Africa and the southern Levant spanning much of the Acheulean. We set out to chart the evolution of Acheulean toolmaking skill using a suite of computational 3D methods to quantify how well these handaxes have been thinned, shaped, and sharpened; traits which demand manual dexterity, planning, and hierarchical cognition. We find evidence that cognitive evolution likely played a role in improvements in handaxe-making skill, but only in the first half of the Acheulean. The most skillfully made handaxes among our sample begin to be made by about one million years ago. Any increases in cranial capacity, cognitive complexity, or manual dexterity after this point do not make a noticeable impact on how skillfully handaxes were made, and nor does raw material quality. Instead, the techno-morphology of handaxes appears to be relatively untethered from evolutionary constraints after about a million years ago, at which point we need to seek alternative explanations for handaxe variability. Above all, we show that the difficult pursuit of lowering bifacial asymmetry was more often achieved than any other skillful attribute, suggesting it was a fundamental goal of handaxe-making. Attempting to maintain 3D symmetry appears to be a common goal throughout the entire Acheulean and was routinely achieved by its second half. This capacity to consistently maintain bifacial balance while knapping was in place by at least 1.0 Ma, revealing the evolved technological abilities and hierarchical cognition of Acheulean hominins.