The transitions from foraging to farming and later to pastoralism in Stone Age Eurasia (c. 11-3 thousand years before present, BP) represent some of the most dramatic lifestyle changes in human evolution. We sequenced 317 genomes of primarily Mesolithic and Neolithic individuals from across Eurasia combined with radiocarbon dates, stable isotope data, and pollen records. Genome imputation and co-analysis with previously published shotgun sequencing data resulted in >1600 complete ancient genome sequences offering fine-grained resolution into the Stone Age populations. We observe that: 1) Hunter-gatherer groups were more genetically diverse than previously known, and deeply divergent between western and eastern Eurasia. 2) We identify hitherto genetically undescribed hunter-gatherers from the Middle Don region that contributed ancestry to the later Yamnaya steppe pastoralists; 3) The genetic impact of the Neolithic transition was highly distinct, east and west of a boundary zone extending from the Black Sea to the Baltic. Large-scale shifts in genetic ancestry occurred to the west of this "Great Divide", including an almost complete replacement of hunter-gatherers in Denmark, while no substantial ancestry shifts took place during the same period to the east. This difference is also reflected in genetic relatedness within the populations, decreasing substantially in the west but not in the east where it remained high until c. 4,000 BP; 4) The second major genetic transformation around 5,000 BP happened at a much faster pace with Steppe-related ancestry reaching most parts of Europe within 1,000-years. Local Neolithic farmers admixed with incoming pastoralists in eastern, western, and southern Europe whereas Scandinavia experienced another near-complete population replacement. Similar dramatic turnover-patterns are evident in western Siberia; 5) Extensive regional differences in the ancestry components involved in these early events remain visible to this day, even within countries. Neolithic farmer ancestry is highest in southern and eastern England while Steppe-related ancestry is highest in the Celtic populations of Scotland, Wales, and Cornwall (this research has been conducted using the UK Biobank resource); 6) Shifts in diet, lifestyle and environment introduced new selection pressures involving at least 21 genomic regions. Most such variants were not universally selected across populations but were only advantageous in particular ancestral backgrounds. Contrary to previous claims, we find that selection on the FADS regions, associated with fatty acid metabolism, began before the Neolithisation of Europe. Similarly, the lactase persistence allele started increasing in frequency before the expansion of Steppe-related groups into Europe and has continued to increase up to the present. Along the genetic cline separating Mesolithic hunter-gatherers from Neolithic farmers, we find significant correlations with trait associations related to skin disorders, diet and lifestyle and mental health status, suggesting marked phenotypic differences between these groups with very different lifestyles. This work provides new insights into major transformations in recent human evolution, elucidating the complex interplay between selection and admixture that shaped patterns of genetic variation in modern populations.

We describe a likely case of chronic maxillary sinusitis (CMS) in a Neanderthal skeletal sample from Chagyrskaya Cave, in the Altai Mountains. Signs of CMS were recorded in the Chagyrskaya 57 specimen, which is a fragment of a left maxilla. Alveoli of the upper fi rst molar are partially preserved, and so are the second and third upper molars, with adjacent parts of the walls, and the fl oor of the maxillary sinus. The fragment was found in layer 6b, dating to 53,100–51,100 BP. We analyze the factors that had caused the development of the disease, and assess its etiology. In the 3D-model, generated by computed microtomography, and in the original specimen, porotic changes were registered, situated at the fracture line of the alveoli of M1, lost post-mortem, and near the vestibular roots of both preserved molars. Also, there were isolated bone spicules, 1.0–2.6 mm in size. These signs indicate incipient CMS, evidently caused by chronic periodontal disease combined with a deep alveolar recess of the maxillary sinus. As the periodontal gap expanded, several small nutrient foramina, piercing the bottom of the sinus, merged. As a result, several oro-antral channels formed, whereupon the infection spread into the maxillary sinus. Since the deep alveolar recess is observed in the vast majority of Neanderthal crania with published images or reconstructed maxillary cavities, it can be assumed that Neanderthals were predisposed to odontogenic CMS.

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В работе представлены результаты исследования краниологических материалов раннеголоценового времени, обнаруженных в пещере у с. Хатыстыр (Якутия) в 1962 г. Для черепа мужчины, погребенного в пещере, были получены измерения восьми признаков. На их основании был сделан дискриминантный канонический анализ с использованием индивидуальных данных по 14 древним выборкам с территории Сибири и Дальнего Востока, рассчитана матрица евклидовых расстояний между сравниваемыми группами, и выполнена их кластеризация при помощи генерализованного алгоритма метода k-средних. Результаты статистического анализа показали наибольшее сходство хатыстырского человека с носителями серовской культуры Прибайкалья и неолитическим населением Барабинской лесостепи. Это, в свою очередь, позволило сделать вывод о том, что хатыстырский человек был тесно связан с наиболее ранней волной заселения Северной Азии в верхнепалеолитическое время. Также они позволили говорить о том, что присутствие родственного хатыстырцу компонента, ассимилированного представителями более позднего населения, проявляется и в других районах северо-востока Азии, вплоть до Сахалина, но отсутствует в составе неолитического населения Приморья и у носителей древнекорякской и древнеберингоморской культур. На основании результатов сравнения характеристик хатыстырского человека с поздненеолитическими носителями ымыяхтахской культуры Якутии из могильника Диринг-Юрях был сделан вывод об отсутствии популяционной преемственности между ранне- и среднеголоценовым населением этого региона. Серия из Диринг-Юряха не проявляет сходства ни с одной из привлеченных для анализа групп и, вероятнее всего, представляет собой популяционный изолят.

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