Europe's Neolithic Mass Graves and Dog Domestication: New Insights from Ancient DNA and Morphology

Europe’s LBK Neolithic farmers originated in Anatolia and spread across Europe, yet their communities abruptly vanish around 5000 BCE, leaving mass graves that showcase intense violence. A Slovakia site near Vla reveals a long, fortification-adjacent trench with hundreds of bodies, mostly headless, inviting debate about whether conflicts, ritual acts, or other pressures ended LBK life. Separately, dog genetics research shows dogs largely accompanied migrating humans, with some Arctic acquisitions of dogs, and early Holocene skull diversity indicating substantial variation before modern breeds. A 2022 study further demonstrates that breed morphology, not personality, is highly heritable, while environment shapes behavior. The episode highlights how ancient DNA, archaeology, and modern genetics together reshape our understanding of humans, dogs, and the deep past.

Introduction: Neolithic Europe and Dog Research

The Science podcast edition from November 20, 2025, surveys two threads: the fate of Europe’s Neolithic LBK farmers and new work on dog domestication and morphology, drawing on recent ancient DNA, archaeology, and genetics studies. The discussion connects Anatolian origins of farming to the rapid spread across Europe and the later appearance of mass graves at multiple LBK sites.

Origins of European Farmers and the LBK Collapse

LBK farmers likely originated in Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) and moved into Europe about 7000 years ago, bringing farming technology and related culture. Ancient DNA studies show these farmers remained genetically linked to the Anatolian founders rather than mixing widely with local European populations, even as they settled across valleys and built settlements. After several centuries, LBK communities abruptly disappear, with many sites abandoned and mass graves emerging across regions like Germany, Austria, and Slovakia. The mass-grave pattern is a consistent timing feature, but burial practices and local violence vary greatly from site to site.

The Vla Settlement and Its Mass Grave

The Vrbľa/Vla site in Slovakia illustrates the mystery: a large settlement of roughly 1000 people, now a wheat field, with three neighborhoods and a fortification ditch system. Excavations since 2021 uncovered a long trench packed with hundreds of bodies, mostly intact but with severed heads, suggesting a mass-death event or ritual sequence. Isotopic and osteological analyses reveal a complex demographic that challenges simple invasions or internal village massacres. The landscape shows a fortification facing away from other settlements, raising questions about warning signals, inter-village conflict, and the social meanings behind these violent death rituals.

Interpreting Violence in the Late LBK

Researchers emphasize that the violence observable in mass graves across LBK sites cannot be easily explained by climate stress or famine, as many communities appear well nourished and climate signals are unclear. The skull and bone evidence—such as skull removal at some sites and varied injuries at others—suggests multiple rituals or recurrent massacres rather than a single event. Ancient DNA and isotopic data indicate that, in some cases, violence occurred among neighboring groups rather than a single invading population. The ongoing challenge is to determine whether these acts were local conflicts, broader cultural rituals, or responses to social fragmentation as LBK culture expanded.

Dog Dispersal and Morphology: Humans and Canines Moving Together

The episode shifts to canine history with Sasha Vanieri, examining dog dispersal after domestication. A key finding is that dogs largely accompanied migrating human cultures, aligning with human genetics across Eurasia; in a few places, however, dogs were acquired locally, notably in Arctic populations where dogs adapted to extreme environments. This reveals that domestication could have occurred multiple times and that dog populations often track human movements, even when they originated in different regions.

Early Dog Diversity and Modern Breeds

A second paper analyzes ancient and modern skull morphology to reveal substantial Holocene diversity among dogs long before today’s standardized breeds, indicating that dogs were morphologically varied well before Victorian-era breed shaping. The Pleistocene era remains debated, as some skulls dated before 11,000 years ago are classified as wolves, underscoring the complexities of distinguishing dog from wolf in deep time. A 2022 study then asks how much breed personality is heritable, finding strong heritability for morphology but a weaker link for behavior, aside from bidability which is higher in certain lines like border collies but still variable in individuals. The discussion also highlights how owner perceptions of breed traits influence behavior reports, and how a large pool of mixed-breed dogs underscores the limits of breed stereotypes.