Genomic approaches and their contributions to understanding the European Neolithisation

Abstract

The contribution of ancient DNA to the understanding of past events has been increasing exponentially in recent years. This is mainly due to the synergy of technical advances, such as the molecular technique of high-Throughput DNA sequencing, which has allowed for the reconstruction of complete genomes as old as 750 000 years. Another step toward the cost-effective characterisation of ancient genomes is the sampling of petrous bone, which has allowed sequencing of the first ancient African genome. Here I review the significant contribution of ancient genomics to our understanding of the European Neolithisation process.