The relentless rise of migration in Europe over last 10,000 years

Three major pulses of increased mobility in Europe over the last 10,000 years and a general upward trend in migration have been uncovered in a new study led by researchers from UCL, University of Cambridge and King's College London. The new method, published today in PNAS , allows, for the first time, to directly quantify changes in prehistoric migration rates using ancient genetic data over the last 30,000 years. The researchers found that migration has been on the rise since the beginning of the Holocene (the unusually warm and stable climatic period we have been in for the last approximately 11,000 years). Interestingly, this rise in mobility has not been gradual but instead has occurred in at least three distinct pulses (see figure above). The first occurred when agriculture spread across Europe from the Near East. The second coincided with the beginning of the Bronze Age; a time when complex civilizations were emerging, horses became a major means of transport, carts and chariots were invented, and new trade networks across Asia and Europe became established. The third mobility pulse occurred in the Iron Age, a period that saw significant increases in population sizes, trade and warfare.  "These findings suggest a strong link between technological change and human mobility" said Professor Mark Thomas (UCL Genetics, Evolution & Environment), an author of the study.