Fig. 3: Temporal trends in EEF-related ancestry across Central Europe.
a Time series plot showing the EEF-related ancestry changes in Central Europe from the Early Bronze Age to the Iron Age calculated using qpAdm (Supplementary Data 4a). Different regions are indicated by colour and shape, individual points represent single individuals, and outliers are marked in black. Error bars represent uncertainty (± one standard error) in ancestry estimates. Standard errors were computed with the default block jackknife approach. The x-axis shows the median BCE date for each individual (Supplementary Data 4a). The number of individuals (n) per region and time period is displayed in panel b. Abbreviations: EEF, Early European Farmer–related ancestry; EBA, Early Bronze Age; MBA, Middle Bronze Age; LBA, Late Bronze Age; IA, Iron Age. b Box plots showing EEF-related ancestry changes over time in South Germany, Bohemia/Czechia, Central Germany, and Southwest/Central Poland. Each data point represents one individual. Sample sizes (n) for each period are indicated below the x-axis. The height of the boxes indicates the interquartile range (75th- 25th percentiles). The centre line indicates the median. Whiskers extend to the most extreme value within 1.5× the interquartile range. Individual data points are overlaid for periods with n < 10. Points beyond the whiskers indicate outliers and are coloured red. Statistical differences between periods were assessed using Kruskal–Wallis tests, restricted to periods with n ≥ 3 individuals, followed by two-sided pairwise Wilcoxon rank-sum tests with Bonferroni correction where applicable. Significant differences between periods are indicated by asterisks (* p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001, **** p < 0.0001; ns = non-significant). Exact adjusted P values and detailed statistical test results are provided in Supplementary Data 12. The ancestry proportions used in both panels are the qpAdm distal estimates reported in Supplementary Data 4a. The millet icon was created by Roman from Noun Project (CC BY 3.0), https://thenounproject.com/browse/icons/term/millet/ and illustrates the attested millet consumption during the early LBA in Central Germany.
