Agriculture was brought into Britain by migrants from continental Europe and was not accepted by hunter-gatherers that previously existed on the islands.

This conclusion was made by specialists from the Museum of Natural History and the University of California in collaboration with Harvard University after a new study of ancient DNA.

Scientists researching the origins of agriculture in the UK examined the DNA of 47 skeletons of farmers in the Neolithic (“New Stone Age”) periods, from 6,000 to 4,500 years ago and six skeletons of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers (“Middle Stone Age”) from the previous period (11,600 - 6000 years ago). The skeletons considered included the skeleton of Cheddar Mans, the oldest almost complete human skeleton found in Britain.

From DNA analysis, researchers were able to identify that most of the British hunter-gatherers were assimilated by those with a pedigree originating from the Aegean coast, where it is believed that farm crops spread from the very beginning in the Middle East.

Populations of early Neolithic cultures traveled off the coast of the Aegean in Turkey, bringing with them agriculture and specific crops, such as new funeral rites and pottery, and spreading them throughout most of Western Europe along the two main corridors of the Mediterranean Sea and the Rhine-Danube axis of Central Of Europe.

The author of the study, Professor Mark Thomas (UCL Genetics, Evolution & Environment), believes that “The transition to agriculture is one of the most important technological innovations in human evolution. He first appeared in the UK about 6,000 years ago; before that, people survived through hunting, fishing and gathering.

For over 100 years, archaeologists have debated whether he was brought to Britain by immigrant farmers or was received by local hunter-gatherers. “Our study strongly supports the notion that immigrant farmers introduced agriculture to Britain and largely replaced the indigenous hunter-gatherer population.”