Tracing social mechanisms and interregional connections in Early Bronze Age Societies in Lower Austria

Anja Furtwängler; Katharina Rebay-Salisbury; Gunnar U. Neumann; Fabian Kanz; Harald Ringbauer; Raffaela Angelina Bianco; Tanja Schmidt; Lena Semerau; Rita Radzevičiūtė; Rodrigo Barquera; Nadin Rohland; Kristin Stewardson; J. Noah Workman; Elizabeth Curtis; Fatma Zalzala; Kim Callan; Lora Iliev; Lijun Qiu; Olivia Cheronet; Anna Wagner; Guillermo Bravo Morante; Michaela Spannagel; Maria Teschler-Nicola; Friederike Novotny; Domnika Verdianu; Ron Pinhasi; David Reich; Johannes Krause; Philipp W. Stockhammer; Alissa Mittnik

doi:10.1038/s41467-025-67906-y

Tracing social mechanisms and interregional connections in Early Bronze Age Societies in Lower Austria

Anja Furtwängler (Korresp. Autor*in)
, Katharina Rebay-Salisbury (Korresp. Autor*in)
, Gunnar U. Neumann
, Fabian Kanz
, Harald Ringbauer
, Raffaela Angelina Bianco
, Tanja Schmidt
, Lena Semerau
, Rita Radzevičiūtė
, Rodrigo Barquera
, Nadin Rohland
, Kristin Stewardson
, J. Noah Workman
, Elizabeth Curtis
, Fatma Zalzala
, Kim Callan
, Lora Iliev
, Lijun Qiu
, Olivia Cheronet
, Anna Wagner

Guillermo Bravo Morante, Michaela Spannagel, Maria Teschler-Nicola, Friederike Novotny, Domnika Verdianu, Ron Pinhasi, David Reich, Johannes Krause, Philipp W. Stockhammer, Alissa Mittnik (Korresp. Autor*in)

Veröffentlichungen: Beitrag in Fachzeitschrift › Artikel › Peer Reviewed

Abstract

In this study, we present the results of archaeogenetic investigations of Early Bronze Age individuals from Lower Austria, specifically associated with the Únětice and Unterwölbling cultural groups. Through analysing newly generated genome-wide data of 129 individuals, we explore the social structure and genetic relationships within and between these communities. Our results reveal a predominantly patrilocal society with non-strict female exogamic practices. Additionally, Identity-by-Descent analysis detects long-distance genetic connections, emphasizing the complex network of interactions in Central Europe during this period. Despite shared social dynamics, notable genetic distinctions emerge between the Únětice and Unterwölbling groups. These insights contribute to our understanding of Bronze Age population interconnections and call for a nuanced interpretation of social dynamics in this historical context.

Originalsprache	Englisch
Aufsatznummer	131
Fachzeitschrift	Nature Communications
Jahrgang	17
Ausgabenummer	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-67906-y
Publikationsstatus	Elektronische Veröffentlichung vor Drucklegung - 31 Dez. 2025

Fördermittel

We thank the staff of the Department of Anthropology at the Natural History Museum in Vienna, in particular Karin Wiltschke-Schrotta, Doris Pany-Kucera and Michaela Spannagl-Steiner, for granting access to the human remains under their curation. We are grateful to Kurt Fiebig, the director of the excavation at Drasenhofen, for the detailed excavation records. Walther Parson and David Reich generously let us access and re-analyze samples and data from previous projects. This study was funded in the framework of the project “The value of mothers to society: responses to motherhood and child rearing practices in prehistoric Europe’, which received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement No 676828, PI: K. Rebay-Salisbury. This work was supported by National Institutes of Health grant HG012287; by John Templeton Foundation grant 61220; by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), a gift from J.-F. Clin; by the Allen Discovery Center, a Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group advised program.

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10.1038/s41467-025-67906-y

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Zitationsweisen

Furtwängler, A., Rebay-Salisbury, K., Neumann, G. U., Kanz, F., Ringbauer, H., Bianco, R. A., Schmidt, T., Semerau, L., Radzevičiūtė, R., Barquera, R., Rohland, N., Stewardson, K., Workman, J. N., Curtis, E., Zalzala, F., Callan, K., Iliev, L., Qiu, L., Cheronet, O., ... Mittnik, A. (2025). Tracing social mechanisms and interregional connections in Early Bronze Age Societies in Lower Austria. Nature Communications, 17(1), Artikel 131. Vorzeitige Online-Publikation. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-67906-y

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Furtwängler, A, Rebay-Salisbury, K, Neumann, GU, Kanz, F, Ringbauer, H, Bianco, RA, Schmidt, T, Semerau, L, Radzevičiūtė, R, Barquera, R, Rohland, N, Stewardson, K, Workman, JN, Curtis, E, Zalzala, F, Callan, K, Iliev, L, Qiu, L, Cheronet, O, Wagner, A, Bravo Morante, G, Spannagel, M, Teschler-Nicola, M, Novotny, F, Verdianu, D , Pinhasi, R, Reich, D, Krause, J, Stockhammer, PW & Mittnik, A 2025, 'Tracing social mechanisms and interregional connections in Early Bronze Age Societies in Lower Austria', Nature Communications, Jg. 17, Nr. 1, 131. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-67906-y

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AU - Neumann, Gunnar U.

AU - Kanz, Fabian

AU - Ringbauer, Harald

AU - Bianco, Raffaela Angelina

AU - Schmidt, Tanja

AU - Semerau, Lena

AU - Radzevičiūtė, Rita

AU - Barquera, Rodrigo

AU - Rohland, Nadin

AU - Stewardson, Kristin

AU - Workman, J. Noah

AU - Curtis, Elizabeth

AU - Zalzala, Fatma

AU - Callan, Kim

AU - Iliev, Lora

AU - Qiu, Lijun

AU - Cheronet, Olivia

AU - Wagner, Anna

AU - Bravo Morante, Guillermo

AU - Spannagel, Michaela

AU - Teschler-Nicola, Maria

AU - Novotny, Friederike

AU - Verdianu, Domnika

AU - Pinhasi, Ron

AU - Reich, David

AU - Krause, Johannes

AU - Stockhammer, Philipp W.

AU - Mittnik, Alissa

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AB - In this study, we present the results of archaeogenetic investigations of Early Bronze Age individuals from Lower Austria, specifically associated with the Únětice and Unterwölbling cultural groups. Through analysing newly generated genome-wide data of 129 individuals, we explore the social structure and genetic relationships within and between these communities. Our results reveal a predominantly patrilocal society with non-strict female exogamic practices. Additionally, Identity-by-Descent analysis detects long-distance genetic connections, emphasizing the complex network of interactions in Central Europe during this period. Despite shared social dynamics, notable genetic distinctions emerge between the Únětice and Unterwölbling groups. These insights contribute to our understanding of Bronze Age population interconnections and call for a nuanced interpretation of social dynamics in this historical context.

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SN - 2041-1723

VL - 17

JO - Nature Communications

JF - Nature Communications

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ER -

Tracing social mechanisms and interregional connections in Early Bronze Age Societies in Lower Austria

Abstract

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