
Ancient DNA shows Paris-area population wiped out, replaced by southern migrants
Ancient DNA from a tomb near Paris reveals a major population replacement around 3000 BCE: the earlier Stone Age farming group was not related to the later settlers who migrated from the south. While plague and other stresses were evident, they were not the sole cause of the decline, which also coincided with social shifts away from extended family burials and the end of Europe’s megalith-building tradition, supporting a broader Neolithic decline across northern and western Europe.
