Early Alpine occupation backdates westward human migration in Late Glacial Europe

Before the end of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, similar to 16.5 ka ago)(1) set in motion major shifts in human culture and population structure,(2) a consistent change in lithic technology, material culture, settlement pattern, and adaptive strategies is recorded in Southern Europe at similar to 18-17 ka ago. In this time frame, the landscape of Northeastern Italy changed considerably, and the retreat of glaciers allowed hunter-gatherers to gradually recolonize the Alps.(3-6) Change within this renewed cultural frame (i.e., during the Late Epigravettian phase) is currently associated with migrations favored by warmer climate linked to the Bolling-Allerod onset (14.7 ka ago),(7-11) which replaced earlier genetic lineages with ancestry found in an individual who lived similar to 14 ka ago at Riparo Villabruna, Italy, and shared among different contexts (Villabruna Cluster).(9) Nevertheless, these dynamics and their chronology are still far from being disentangled due to fragmentary evidence for long-distance interactions across Europe.(12) Here, we generate new genomic data from a human mandible uncovered at Riparo Tagliente (Veneto, Italy), which we directly dated to 16,980-16,510 cal BP (2s). This individual, affected by focal osseous dysplasia, is genetically affine to the Villabruna Cluster. Our results therefore backdate by at least 3 ka the diffusion in Southern Europe of a genetic component linked to Balkan/Anatolian refugia, previously believed to have spread during the later Bolling/Allerod event. In light of the new genetic evidence, this population replacement chronologically coincides with the very emergence of major cultural transitions in Southern and Western Europe.

Automated summary

Significant cultural and population changes occurred in Southern Europe around 18-17 thousand years ago, as hunter-gatherers gradually recolonized the Alps due to retreat of glaciers. The Late Epigravettian phase saw a replacement of genetic lineages, believed to be influenced by migrations during a warmer climate period about 14.7 thousand years ago. New genetic evidence suggests a population replacement event in Southern Europe, coinciding with major cultural transitions, dated back by at least 3 thousand years compared to previous beliefs.