Provider: Moravian Museum, Brno, Czech Republic TY - JOUR JO - Anthropologie (Brno) TI - Neolithic transition in Europe: evolutionary anthropology study AU - Ehler E AU - Vanèata V Y1 - 2009 VL - 47 IS - 3 PB - Moravian Museum, Brno, Czech Republic SN - 0323-1119 SP - 185 EP - 193 KW - Neolithic KW - Mesolithic KW - Europe KW - Hunter gatherers KW - Farmers KW - Agriculture KW - Migration KW - Y chromosome KW - Admixture N2 - N2 - The Neolithic transition in Europe was investigated. We have focused on the models of this transition already proposed in literature, and confronted them with our data. Our study is based on physical anthropology data that we have divided into five groups according to the economy and ecology of the human populations within. These groups are: huntergatherers, first farmers, late farmers, pastorial cultures and Bronze Age. We have documented a sharp dissimilarity between Mesolithic and Early Neolithic populations, but on the other hand a strong resemblance between hunter-gatherers, pastorial and Bronze Age cultures. This phenomenon was probably caused by migration of agricultural populations to Europe in the beginning of Neolithic and consequent absorption of these populations within the more numerous indigenous populations. We have also discovered a marked difference in the body stature between farmer males and females. Higher mobility of females' genes together with limited admixture of hunter-gatherers and first farmers' male part of population might possibly be responsible for this feature. ER -