The genomic ancestry of the Scandinavian Battle Axe culture and its relation to the broader Corded Ware horizon

The Neolithic period is characterized by major cultural transformations and human migrations, with lasting effects in areas of Europe. We present an archaeogenetic investigation of individuals associated to the Battle Axe Culture (BAC), a middle-Neolithic complex in Scandinavia resembling the continental Corded Ware Culture (CWC). We sequenced the genomes (0.26X-3.24X coverage) of eleven individuals (14C dated to 3330-1665BCE) from modern-day Sweden, Estonia, and Poland. Three of the individuals were from CWC contexts, and two from the central-Swedish BAC burial “Bergsgraven”. By analyzing the genomes together with previously published data, we show that the BAC represents a group different from earlier populations in Scandinavia. Similar to continental CWC, the BAC associated individuals display ancestry from the Pontic-Caspian Steppe herders as well as smaller components originating from hunter-gatherers and early Neolithic farmers. Furthermore, we find this genetic pattern in individuals secondarily buried in megalithic tombs of the earlier Funnel Beaker Complex (FBC), highlighting the re-usage of the tombs in Scandinavia by people related to BAC. Thus, the ancestry of Scandinavian BAC individuals can only be explained by migration into Scandinavia. The BAC groups likely mixed with resident middle-Neolithic farmers (e.g. FBC groups), but not with Neolithic foragers, revealing social stratifications in the Scandinavian Neolithic.