At a glance
- When
- about 6500 to 3000 BCE in Europe
- Where
- Anatolia, then the Balkans, Central Europe along the Danube, the Mediterranean coasts and Scandinavia
- Entries in our catalogue
- 1,032 (735 individual genomes)
- Countries of the finds
- 20
What ancient DNA shows
Studies published from 2014 onwards, including an analysis of Neolithic genomes from Anatolia in Nature in 2015, found that early farmers from Greece to Germany and Spain were closely related to farmers of northwestern Anatolia and at first carried little hunter-gatherer ancestry. Two routes are visible: a Danubian route represented by the Linear Pottery culture of Central Europe, and a Mediterranean route associated with Impressed and Cardial Ware.
Over the following two thousand years, hunter-gatherer ancestry rose in farming communities in many regions, showing that the two populations lived side by side for centuries before mixing. Later Neolithic farmers such as the Funnel Beaker people of Scandinavia carried more hunter-gatherer ancestry than the first farmers, and early farmers in Britain, who arrived around 4000 BCE, also descended largely from Anatolian-derived farmers.
Their genetic legacy today
Early farmer ancestry is one of the three main sources of present-day European ancestry, alongside hunter-gatherer and steppe ancestry. It is highest today in southern Europe, and on Sardinia it remains the largest component.
Early European Farmers samples in the MYDNATLAS catalogue
Our ancient DNA catalogue holds 1,032 entries whose culture label names the Early European Farmers. 735 of them are individual genomes; the others are reference entries, such as averages of several individuals, and samples flagged as outliers. Half of the 1,025 dated entries fall between 5,500 BCE and 3,793 BCE, with a median of 5,124 BCE.
Where they were found
| Country | Entries |
|---|---|
| Türkiye | 212 |
| Germany | 169 |
| Sweden | 121 |
| Austria | 118 |
| Hungary | 88 |
| Denmark | 68 |
| Slovakia | 61 |
| Czechia | 54 |
Most common labels
| Label | Entries |
|---|---|
| Anatolian Neolithic (Turkey) | 177 |
| Linear Pottery Culture (LBK / Linearbandkeramik), Germany | 135 |
| Funnel Beaker (Sweden) | 118 |
| Linearbandkeramik (LBK / Linear Pottery Culture) | 112 |
| Linear Pottery (Germany) | 51 |
| Funnel Beaker (Denmark) | 47 |
Measured from the live catalogue on 2026-10-17. Dates are those recorded for each entry; the archaeological dates of the culture are given above. See our data sources for where the samples come from.
Compare your DNA with the Early European Farmers
To see how close you sit to Early European Farmers samples, you need your DNA as G25 coordinates. Download your raw data file from your testing company, convert it, and MYDNATLAS compares your coordinates with these entries and the rest of the catalogue, period by period, in its closest population and mixture tools.
- Download your raw DNA file: step by step for each testing company.
- Upload it from 23andMe, AncestryDNA, MyHeritage or FamilyTreeDNA, or another supported provider.
- Explore the results with the period by period breakdown and closest populations.
Start free: browse the Population Encyclopedia. The Population Encyclopedia is free to browse with a free account; analysing your own DNA needs a paid plan.
Questions
How many Early European Farmers samples does MYDNATLAS hold?
Our ancient DNA catalogue holds 1,032 entries labelled as Early European Farmers, of which 735 are individual genomes; the rest are reference entries such as group averages, and flagged outliers. Figures measured 2026-10-17.
Where were the Early European Farmers samples found?
They come from 20 countries, most often Türkiye, Germany, Sweden, Austria and Hungary. Half of the dated entries fall between 5,500 BCE and 3,793 BCE.
Was farming brought to Europe by migrants?
Mostly, yes. Ancient DNA shows that the first farmers across most of Europe descended largely from Anatolian farmers rather than from local hunter-gatherers who took up farming, although local foragers later mixed into farming communities.