A research team led by Vienna-based scientists has published the largest genetic study to date on the composition of Europe’s first major farming society—the Linear Pottery Culture (LBK). The findings, published in Nature Human Behaviour, suggest that the LBK society was widespread and consisted of closely related groups with little disparity in access to food and resources. However, their society met a violent end, including events in present-day Lower Austria.
The Massacre of Asparn
In the Weinviertel region of Lower Austria, one of the oldest archaeological sites on Earth shows clear evidence of systematic warfare. About 7,000 years ago, a large number of people were murdered at the Neolithic settlement of Schletz near Asparn an der Zaya. This massacre is considered the oldest known evidence of war in Central Europe.
Experts, including Maria Teschler-Nicola from the Natural History Museum (NHM) in Vienna, have thoroughly examined skull fractures and other signs of violence found on skeletons. The studies indicate that the victims had been struck with stone axes. Along with other findings from sites in Talheim and Herxheim (Germany) and Vrable (Slovakia), these early instances of large-scale violence are likely connected to the collapse of the LBK culture around 7,000 to 6,900 years ago.
The Spread of the Linear Pottery Culture
The research team, including Pere Gelabert and Ron Pinhasi from the University of Vienna and David Reich from Harvard University, focused on identifying the people who brought the new agricultural lifestyle to Central Europe. Archaeological findings suggest that this group spread across parts of present-day Austria, Bohemia, Moravia, Slovakia, and Germany, primarily along rivers, in just a few generations.
Within centuries, the LBK culture had reached as far as Western France and the eastern regions of Poland, Ukraine, and Romania. The tools and settlement structures left behind by the LBK show remarkable similarities, although some regional differences are evident between the West and East.
Genetic Analysis of the LBK Society
The study analyzed the DNA of 250 individuals from 31 archaeological sites of that era, including 87 genomes from Austria. The analysis, which also included bone studies, radiocarbon dating, burial goods, and dietary data, revealed that the later LBK groups mixed with indigenous hunter-gatherer populations before their characteristic pottery emerged.
The research also showed that the LBK society was highly egalitarian. At the sites of Nitra in Slovakia and Polgár-Ferenci-hát in Hungary, families did not differ in terms of food consumption, burial goods, or origin. This suggests that the society was not divided by family or gender, and no signs of inequality regarding access to resources were found. Interestingly, it was noted that men were generally buried closer to their birthplace, while women tended to move and settle elsewhere.
The Asparn Massacre: A Local or Regional Tragedy?
The findings on the victims of the Asparn massacre were particularly surprising. Unlike other large sites, Asparn showed the fewest genetic connections among the victims. Only ten individuals were found to have close genetic relationships. The massacre, which mainly affected men and children, may not have involved only a local group. It is possible that people from distant settlements in the region gathered at Asparn, suggesting the site might have served as a cultural center for the LBK before being destroyed in violent conflict.
In unstable and violent times, it is conceivable that groups from outside the immediate area came together, contributing to the tragedy. The site might have been a central hub of the LBK culture before it was wiped out by large-scale violent conflicts.
