Recent palaeogenomic analyses of ancient DNA retrieved from Iberian hunter-gatherer and early farmer skeletons have challenged the long-standing demic diffusion model of the Neolithic transition in the Western Mediterranean. According to the classical demic model, expanding Anatolian farmer populations almost entirely replaced indigenous Epipalaeolithic foraging communities with minimal genetic admixture. However, high-coverage autosomal sequencing from Iberian cave sites spanning 6000 to 4500 BCE reveals a pronounced, time-transgressive resurgence of hunter-gatherer genomic lineages in early agrarian cohorts. Interestingly, this genomic rebound did not coincide with a reversion to foraging technologies or a collapse in agricultural output; rather, material culture markers—such as impressed cardial ceramics and cereal cultivation tools—remained technologically continuous. Archaeobotanical data further indicate that crop assemblages during this period of genetic resurgence diversified to include drought-tolerant pulses alongside primary wheat varieties. Some scholars argue that this genomic integration reflects a cooperative socio-economic synthesis, wherein indigenous foragers contributed local ecological knowledge regarding microclimatic variability to incoming farming groups, thereby buffering against crop failures without relinquishing agricultural practices.
Consider each of the choices separately and select all that apply.
Based on the passage, which of the following can be inferred regarding early agrarian cohorts in Iberia between 6000 and 4500 BCE?
- The continuation of cereal cultivation practices did not depend exclusively on maintaining an unadmixed Anatolian genetic profile.Answer
- Crop diversification during the period of genetic resurgence introduced agricultural elements beyond the primary wheat varieties utilized initially.Answer
- CIndigenous foragers successfully persuaded Anatolian farmers to abandon agricultural output in favor of traditional foraging technologies.