More than 30,000 years ago, people across Europe were more interconnected than previously thought. An international research team led by the University of Vienna has uncovered new genetic evidence of long-distance connections between populations associated with the Gravettian, one of Europe’s major Palaeolithic cultures.
Published in Science Advances, the study combines genomic data from rare ancient human remains with DNA preserved in cave sediments. The findings reveal genetic exchange between eastern and western European populations alongside long-term population continuity in southwestern Europe.
The Gravettian culture spread across Europe approximately 34,000 to 25,000 years ago. Although archaeological discoveries have long suggested extensive contact between groups across the continent, genetic evidence had previously pointed towards relatively stable eastern and western ancestry groups. The new research challenges that picture by identifying evidence of east-west genetic exchange and persistent western European ancestry in the southwest.
A Woman’s Genome Reveals Connections Between Eastern and Western Europe
The researchers analysed the remains of a woman discovered in Isturitz Cave in southwestern France who lived approximately 30,000 years ago. Her remains yielded the oldest genome-wide dataset to date from a modern human in southwestern Europe.
Most of the woman’s ancestry was associated with the western European lineage. However, her genome also contained ancestry related to populations from central and eastern Europe, providing evidence of genetic exchange between geographically distant groups.
Genetic modelling suggests that this gene flow occurred approximately 32,500 to 31,500 years ago.
“Our results show that eastern and western European populations were not as genetically isolated as previously assumed,” says first author Pere Gelabert, Department of Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Vienna. “Gene flow across such large distances adds a new dimension to our understanding of how Gravettian populations were connected.”
Researchers identified a similar genetic signal in an individual from Ormesson, France, whose remains had been studied previously. Together with archaeological evidence, these findings support the possibility that Isturitz Cave served as a meeting place for different groups.
The evidence suggests that prehistoric populations maintained connections across substantial distances, challenging the idea that eastern and western European groups remained genetically isolated during the Gravettian period.
Ancient DNA from Cave Sediments Reveals Long-Term Population Continuity
Alongside evidence of long-distance genetic exchange, the researchers found signs of long-term population continuity in southwestern Europe.
Genomic data from Chufín Cave in northern Spain indicate that western European ancestry persisted in the region over thousands of years. This suggests that regional populations maintained genetic continuity even as other groups exchanged ancestry across Europe.
The team also examined ancient human DNA preserved directly in cave sediments, offering a way to study populations from periods when human skeletal remains are unavailable.
At El Mirón Cave in Cantabria, northern Spain, researchers recovered enough human nuclear DNA from a layer dating back approximately 22,000 years to determine its genetic ancestry. Notably, the layer contained no human bones or teeth.
“Sedimentary DNA allows us to recover genetic information from periods where human remains are missing,” says senior author Ron Pinhasi, Department of Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Vienna, whose team led this study. “This gives us a way to connect archaeological layers with the genetic ancestry of the people who occupied a site.”
The DNA from El Mirón indicates that this ancestry persisted through the Last Glacial Maximum, a period of intense cold during the last Ice Age. The findings support the idea that the Iberian Peninsula served as a refuge for human populations during these harsh climatic conditions.
By extracting genetic information from cave sediments, researchers can reconstruct aspects of human population history that would otherwise remain inaccessible because of the absence of identifiable human remains.
What Ancient DNA Reveals About Prehistoric Mating Practices
The study also offers insights into mating practices among prehistoric populations in southern Italy.
Researchers analysed Ostuni1b, a male fetus and most likely the son of a previously studied woman known as Ostuni1. Genetic evidence suggests that the fetus’s father probably belonged to the same genetic population as the mother.
However, the parents were not closely related. This suggests that mating practices may have helped prevent high levels of inbreeding within the population.
The findings highlight how ancient communities could maintain regional genetic continuity without necessarily reproducing exclusively within closely related family groups.
Together, the evidence from France, Spain and Italy demonstrates that regional population stability and long-distance genetic exchange could occur simultaneously during the Palaeolithic period. Rather than representing isolated populations, Ice Age communities appear to have maintained connections across Europe while preserving distinct regional ancestry patterns.
Using Sedimentary DNA to Investigate Early Human Expansions
The research also demonstrates the value of combining DNA from human remains with genetic material recovered directly from archaeological sediments.
Traditional ancient DNA research often depends on the discovery of well-preserved bones or teeth. Sedimentary DNA offers an alternative, allowing scientists to investigate the genetic ancestry of people who occupied a site even when identifiable human remains are absent.
The technique could help researchers reconstruct population movements and interactions across periods and locations where organic remains are scarce.
Gelabert’s team is now combining sedimentary DNA with advanced proteomic analyses to investigate the first trans-European expansions of modern humans and their interactions with carnivores. As these methods develop, they could provide further insights into how early human populations spread across Europe, interacted with one another and adapted to changing environmental conditions during the Ice Age.
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