Ancestors of crops like wheat, barley, and rye were much less widespread 12,000 years ago than previously believed

 

New study maps where wheat, barley and rye grew before the first farmers found them

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Dr. Amaia Arranz-Otaegui and Ali Shakaiteer sampling cereals in the Shubayqa area. 

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Credit: Photo: Joe Roe, University of Copenhagen

In a new study in the journal Open Quaternary, researchers from the University of Copenhagen and the University of the Basque Country have reconstructed the likely ancient geographic ranges of 65 wild plant species closely associated with early farming in West Asia. These include the wild ancestors of wheat, barley, rye, lentils, and other crops that sparked the agricultural revolution more than 10,000 years ago.

“The first farming societies were established in the Middle East about 12,000 years ago. We know this from the artifacts, seeds, and animal bones that archaeologists have recovered from excavations. But we know little about the natural background vegetation in these areas, which means that we also don’t know exactly where the Neolithic peoples found the plants that they eventually domesticated,” says archaeologist and lead author Joe Roe from the University of Copenhagen. He adds:

“Based on our new data, it looks like the ancestors of some of the plants most important to modern agriculture – wheat, rye and barley, etc. – did not grow where we expected and also that they were much less widespread than we thought.”

Joe Roe and his co-author, archaeobotanist Amaia Arranz-Otaegui, were surprised to find that many early crop ancestors appear to have been concentrated in the Mediterranean coast of the Levant, suggesting this area acted as “refugium” during the rather extreme climate of the late Ice Age.

“This suggests that many wild crops were well-adapted to quite cold and dry conditions and did not necessarily expand with the arrival of the warmer and wetter climate in which the first farming communities established themselves,” says Amaia Arranz-Otaegui.

Together, these findings provide the clearest picture yet of where the world’s earliest agricultural plants once grew and the kind of landscapes ancient communities lived in when they transitioned from foraging to farming.

A methodological breakthrough

The study also marks an important step forward for how researchers model past ecosystems. By combining large, open datasets on where specific plant species grow today with advanced computer simulations of past global climate, they were able to create detailed maps showing where ancient plants were likely to have grown.

“Essentially, we used the same climate simulations that IPPC uses to predict our future climate, just turned backwards, and combined them with a machine learning model of what kinds of environment these plants are adapted to,” says Amaia Arranz-Otaegui.

According to the researchers, this modelling approach represents a new line of evidence for understanding the ecological context of early agriculture. Because it does not rely on archaeological preservation, which can be distorted by burial, human activity, and recovery biases, it offers an independent and complementary picture of ancient plant environments.

“This gives us a whole new window onto the ecological backdrop of the world’s first farmers independent,” the two authors conclude.

The article Biogeography of Crop Progenitors and Wild Plant Resources in the Terminal Pleistocene and Early Holocene of West Asia, 14.7–8.3 ka has been published in the open access journal Open Quaternary.

Hunter-gatherers northwestern Europe adopted farming from migrant women

 

Ancient DNA has revealed that hunter-gatherers in Belgium, the Netherlands and nearby parts of Germany adapted to farming thousands of years later than elsewhere in Europe. It has also uncovered the pivotal role of women in the process

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Map showing dispersion of Hunter-Gatherers

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Credit: Bournemouth University

A new study has used ancient DNA to reveal that hunter-gatherers in Belgium, the Netherlands and nearby parts of Germany adapted to farming thousands of years later than elsewhere in Europe. It has also uncovered the pivotal role of women in the process.  

The research, published in Nature, involved scientists from Bournemouth University (BU) and the University of Huddersfield and was led by David Reich at Harvard University.  

Palaeoecologist Professor John Stewart at BU has been excavating caves in the region for over 20 years. He worked with archaeologists at the Université de Liège in Belgium to excavate ancient human remains from the Meuse and Lower Rhine regions of modern-day Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, between 8500 and 1700 BCE which were used in the research. 

The analysis of the DNA from the human remains was carried out at the University of Huddersfield by research students under the supervision of Dr Maria Pala, Professor Martin B. Richards, and Dr Ceiridwen Edwards. 

The Neolithic period was a crucial phase in European prehistory when a series of major population and cultural shifts happened that shaped the genetic composition of modern Europeans. At a time before national borders existed, people moved freely across large distances. In Europe, these movements influenced genetically distinct populations that intermixed creating new languages, cultures, and ways of life.  

During this time European populations had three distinct ancestral components: a hunter-gatherer component inherited from the first modern human (Homo sapiens) inhabitants of the continent, a Neolithic component brought by the first farmers from the Near East, and a third component associated with pastoralists from south Russia. 

DNA analysis from the remains of these ancient populations has helped peal back the layers of time and revealed that the arrival of farming in the Meuse and Lower Rhine regions, around ~4500 BCE did not result in anything like the major shift in genetic composition that took place across the rest of Europe. Instead, the hunter-gather practices were still being used, and the adoption of farming was slower to be introduced by up to 3,000 years.  

Strikingly, the data from the study suggest that this farmer influx was mostly from women marrying into the local hunter-gatherer communities, bringing with them their know-how as well as their genes. This pattern was limited to the water-rich environments (riverine, wetlands and coastal areas) across the region. The wealth of natural resources seems to have allowed the local people to selectively embrace some aspects of farming while also preserving many hunter-gatherer practices (and genes). 

The high levels of hunter-gatherer ancestry persisted until the end of the Neolithic, around 2500 BCE, when the famous “Bell Beaker” pottery first appeared. At this point, new people, with ancestry from Russia, spread across Europe. This time however, the newcomers overwhelmed the local communities, and the ancient lineages that had survived for so long dwindled.  

The study also has consequences for the history of Britain. The analysis revealed that British Early Bronze Age populations after 2500 BCE traced more than 90 per cent of their ancestry to those continental Bell Beaker populations – the earlier people, who built Stonehenge, seem to have almost completely vanished. 

Professor John Stewart commented: "We expected a clear change between the older hunter-gatherer populations and the newer agriculturalists but apparently in the lowlands and along the rivers of the Netherlands and Belgium the change was less immediate. It's like a Waterworld where time stood still." 

Dr Maria Pala said: “This study has also brought to light the crucial role played by women in the transmission of knowledge from the incoming farming communities to the local hunter-gatherers. Thanks to ancient DNA studies we can not only uncover the past but also give voice to the invaluable but often overlooked role played by women in shaping human evolution.” 

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Journal

Nature

DOI

10.1038/s41586-026-10111-8 

Singapore’s first ancient shipwreck: a record cargo of Yuan dynasty blue-and-white porcelain

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YUAN DYNASTY BLUE-AND-WHITE PORCELAIN BOWL FRAGMENT PAINTED WITH A DRAGON INSIDE, 14TH CENTURY.

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Credit: DR MICHAEL FLECKER

A maritime archaeological excavation in Singapore waters has uncovered the Temasek Wreck—an assemblage that is both locally unprecedented and globally significant for Yuan dynasty ceramics. The excavation, carried out intermittently between 2016 and 2019, recovered approximately 3.5 tonnes of ceramic shards along with a small number of intact or nearly intact pieces.

Most striking is the scale of the Yuan blue-and-white porcelain: the author Dr Michael Flecker, from HeritageSG, a subsidiary of Singapore National Heritage Board, reports that the wreck is "the first ancient shipwreck ever found in Singapore waters", and that its blue-and-white cargo exceeds that of any other documented shipwreck.

The recovered blue-and-white alone weighs about 136 kg, comprising over 2350 shards plus several intact or near-intact objects (about 3.9% of the ceramic cargo by weight).

Beyond blue-and-white from Jingdezhen, China—known for its history of ceramic production that peaked during the Ming and Qing dynasties—the cargo includes a wide variety of Longquan celadon, Jingdezhen qingbai (bluish-white glazed) and shufu (“Privy Council”) wares, Dehua whiteware, greenwares probably from Fujian, and Fujian Cizao storage jars and small-mouth jars.

Dr Flecker notes that—even with relatively few intact pieces—the overall ceramic quality is often "superlative", particularly for Jingdezhen blue-and-white and qingbai/shufu wares, as well as Longquan celadon.

The study also addresses the ship and its route. Although no hull survives, associated evidence supports identification as a Chinese junk. Flecker proposed the vessel likely loaded at Quanzhou of Fujian in the mid-14th century and was bound for the thriving entrepot of Temasek (port that preceded modern Singapore), making this tightly dated assemblage a valuable reference collection for comparing less-provenanced finds.

Bird poop powered the rise of the Chincha Kingdom before the Inca

 

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Ceremonial digging stick or paddle from coastal Peru showing seabirds and possible maize sprouting from abstracted fish and stepped-terrace motifs, The Met Museum 1979.206.1025. 

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Credit: The Met Museum 1979.206.1025.

New archaeological evidence reveals that seabird guano – nutrient-rich bird droppings – was not only essential to boosting corn yields and supercharging agriculture in ancient Peru but may have been a driving force behind the rise of the Chincha Kingdom as one of the most prosperous and influential pre‑Inca societies. 

Lead author Dr Jacob Bongers, a digital archaeologist at the University of Sydney and a Visiting Research Fellow at the Australian Museum Research Institute, said the findings highlight the unexpectedly powerful role bird droppings played in shaping ancient societies in the Andes. 

“Seabird guano may seem trivial, yet our study suggests this potent resource could have significantly contributed to sociopolitical and economic change in the Peruvian Andes,” Dr Bongers said.  

“Guano dramatically boosted the production of maize (corn), and this agricultural surplus crucially helped fuel the Chincha Kingdom’s economy, driving their trade, wealth, population growth and regional influence, and shaped their strategic alliance with the Inca Empire.  

“In ancient Andean cultures, fertiliser was power.”   

Ancient fertiliser, modern science   

Published in PLOS One, the study analysed biochemical signatures in 35 maize samples recovered from burial tombs in the Chincha Valley, home to a powerful coastal polity of an estimated 100,000 people.    

Chemical analyses revealed exceptionally high nitrogen levels in the maize, far beyond the natural soil conditions typical for the area. This strongly indicates the crops were fertilised with seabird guano, which is enriched in nitrogen due to the birds’ marine diets.  

“The guano was most likely harvested from the nearby Chincha Islands, renowned for their abundant and high-quality guano deposits,” Dr Bongers said. “Colonial‑era writings we studied report that communities across coastal Peru and northern Chile sailed to several nearby islands on rafts to collect seabird droppings for fertilisation.” 

The researchers also examined regional archaeological imagery featuring seabirds, fish, and sprouting maize depicted together on textiles, ceramics, pottery, wall carvings and paintings, offering a further line of evidence that seabirds and maize held cultural importance in these ancient societies. 

“Together, the chemical and material evidence we studied confirms earlier scholarship showing that guano was deliberately collected and used as a fertiliser,” Dr Bongers said. “But it also points to a deeper cultural significance, suggesting people recognised the exceptional power of this fertiliser and actively celebrated, protected and even ritualised the vital relationship between seabirds and agriculture.” 

Dr Emily Milton, a postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., said the multidisciplinary approach was critical. 

“The historical records documenting how bird guano was applied to maize fields helped us interpret the chemical data and understand the regional importance of this practice,” she said. “Our work extends the known geographic extent of guano fertilisation, echoing recent findings in northern Chile, and suggests soil management began at least around 800 years ago in Peru.” 

How guano reshaped power on the desert coast 

Farming on Peru’s coast is challenging, as it is one of the driest areas on Earth, where even irrigated soils quickly lose nutrients. Guano shipped from offshore islands provided a potent, renewable fertiliser that allowed coastal farmers in the Chincha Valley to grow maize, one of the most important staple crops in the Americas, in abundance.  

This agricultural surplus supported specialist merchants, farmers and fisherfolk, and helped the Chincha people to become major coastal traders.  

“We know the Chincha were extraordinarily wealthy and one of the most powerful coastal societies of their time. But what underpinned that prosperity? Previous research often pointed to spondylus shells, the spiny oyster, as the key driver of merchant wealth,” Dr Bongers said.   

“Our evidence suggests guano was central to the Chincha Kingdom’s success, with the Chincha’s maritime knowledge and access to the Chincha Islands likely reframing their strategic importance in the region.”   

The Inca, based in the highlands of the Andes, produced the largest native empire in the Americas before Europeans arrived and were famously obsessed with maize, using it to make ceremonial fermented beer, or ‘chicha’. But they couldn’t grow much of it in their highland environments, nor could they sail. 

“Guano was a highly sought-after resource the Incas would have wanted access to, playing an important role in the diplomatic arrangements between the Inca and the Chincha communities,” Dr Bongers said.  

“It expanded Chincha’s agricultural productivity and mercantile influence, leading to exchanges of resources and power.” 

Coauthor Dr Jo Osborn at Texas A&M University said this research invites us to reconsider what 'wealth' meant in the ancient Andes.   

“The true power of the Chincha wasn't just access to a resource; it was their mastery of a complex ecological system,” she said. “They possessed the traditional knowledge to see the connection between marine and terrestrial life, and they turned that knowledge into the agricultural surplus that built their kingdom. Their art celebrates this connection, showing us that their power was rooted in ecological wisdom, not just gold or silver.” 

The findings expand on Dr Bongers’ recent research on the Band of Holes just south of the Chincha Valley, where he suggests that the site was an ancient marketplace built by the Chincha Kingdom. 

“This research adds another layer to our understanding of how the Chincha, and potentially other coastal communities, used resources, trade and agriculture to expand their influence in the pre-Hispanic era,” Dr Bongers said. 

Rich medieval Danes bought graves ‘closer to God’ despite leprosy stigma, archaeologists find

Medieval Christians in Denmark showed off their wealth in death by buying prestigious graves: the closer to the church, the higher the price. Researchers used these gravesites to investigate social exclusion based on illness, by studying whether people with leprosy — a highly stigmatized disease culturally associated with sin — or tuberculosis were kept out of the higher-status areas. Unexpectedly, they found that people who were ill with stigmatized diseases were buried just as prominently as their peers. 

“When we started this work, I was immediately reminded of the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, specifically the scene with the plague cart,” said Dr Saige Kelmelis of the University of South Dakota, lead author of the article in Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology. “I think this image depicts our ideas of how people in the past — and in some cases today — respond to debilitating diseases. However, our study reveals that medieval communities were variable in their responses and in their makeup. For several communities, those who were sick were buried alongside their neighbors and given the same treatment as anyone else.” 

Beyond the graves 

The lead researchers, Kelmelis and Vicki Kristensen and Dr Dorthe Pedersen of the University of Southern Denmark, examined 939 adult skeletons from five Danish medieval cemeteries: three urban and two rural, to capture possible differences between towns and the countryside. Higher population density makes it easier for both leprosy and tuberculosis to be transmitted, and unhealthy conditions traditionally associated with medieval towns increase vulnerability to both diseases. 

However, the two diseases impacted patients’ lives differently. Leprosy patients’ facial lesions would have marked them out as different, unlike the less-specific symptoms of tuberculosis.  

“Tuberculosis is one of those chronic infections that people can live with for a very long time without symptoms,” said Kelmelis. “Also, tuberculosis is not as visibly disabling as leprosy, and in a time when the cause of infection and route of transmission were unknown, tuberculosis patients were likely not met with the same stigmatization as the more obvious leprosy patients. Perhaps medieval folks were so busy dealing with one disease that the other was just the cherry on top of the disease sundae.” 

The scientists assessed disease status for each skeleton, as well as how long each person had lived. Leprosy leaves behind evidence of facial lesions and damage to the hands and feet caused by secondary infections, while tuberculosis affects the joints and bones near the lungs.  

Scientists then mapped out the cemeteries, looking for any demarcations that would indicate status differences, like burials within religious buildings. They plotted each skeleton on these maps, looking for differences between higher- and lower-status areas.  

“There is documentation of individuals being able to pay a fee to have a more privileged place of burial,” explained Kelmelis. “In life, these folks — benefactors, knights, and clergy — were also likely able to use their wealth to secure closer proximity to divinity, such as having a pew closer to the front of the church.” 

Bring out your dead 

The scientists found no overall link between disease and burial status. Only at the urban cemetery of Ribe were there any differences that correlated with health: roughly a third of people buried in the lower-status cemetery had tuberculosis, compared to 12% of the people buried in the monastery or the church. As people with leprosy or tuberculosis were not excluded from higher-status areas, the researchers think this reflected different levels of exposure to tuberculosis, not stigma.  

However, all cemeteries contained many tuberculosis patients — especially the urban cemetery of Drotten, where nearly half the burials were in high-status areas and 51% had tuberculosis. People who could afford prestigious graves could also have paid for better living conditions, which helped them survive tuberculosis long enough for the disease to mark their bones.  

These results suggest that medieval people were less likely to exclude the visibly sick from society than stereotypes indicate. However, the researchers caution that more excavations are needed to get a more complete picture of some cemeteries, and that their stringent diagnostic criteria may not have identified every patient.  

“Individuals may have been carrying the bacteria but died before it could show up in the skeleton,” cautioned Kelmelis. “Unless we can include genomic methods, we may not know the full extent of how these diseases affected past communities.” 

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Journal

Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology

DOI

10.3389/fearc.2025.1699370