Scandinavia’s early farmers slaughtered the hunter-gatherer population 5,900 years ago

Scandinavia’s early farmers slaughtered the hunter-gatherer population 5,900 years ago


A recent study conducted by Lund University in Sweden challenges previously held beliefs regarding the transition from hunter-gatherer to agricultural societies in Scandinavia.

The research, which involved an international team of scientists, utilized DNA analysis of skeletons and teeth dating back 7,300 years found in present-day Denmark. Contrary to prior assumptions, the study reveals not one but two significant population turnovers occurred in the region, reshaping the genetic landscape and rewriting the history of ancient migrations.

Previous narratives portrayed this transition as peaceful, but the study suggests the farmers, originating from Anatolia and southern Russia, drove out the indigenous hunter-gatherer populations through a combination of violence and the introduction of new pathogens from their livestock...

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