The Dead Do Tell Tales: New Insights into the Abandonment of Neolithic Megalithic Tombs

 

Figure 1: Megalithic tomb known as Newgrange (Ireland) (Source: MNStudio/Shutterstock)

   

 

Throughout the European continent are large semi-subterranean tombs that were constructed by Neolithic populations between 4300–3100 BC.  These tombs are clustered in highest incidence in France, Germany, Denmark, and southern Scandinavia, but they are found elsewhere, including a very well known one in Ireland (Figure 1).  These tombs required a great deal of human labor to construct.  First, there was the removal of tons of dirt, followed by the movement and placement of large stone slabs to construct the tomb itself.  These tombs were used by Neolithic farmers until around 2900 BC, and their abandonment has puzzled archaeologists for decades. 

 

While various hypotheses derived from the archaeological data have been put forward it is a recent archaeogenetic study that seems to have provided some insights into what may have caused the cultural shifts that led to changing attitudes or trends with the use of the megalithic tombs.  It appears that there was a demographic shift in the populations that occupied Europe.  Genetic analyses of individuals interred in tombs in France, Scandinavia, and other locations demonstrated a distinct difference in populations placed in the tombs early in their use versus the populations interred much later.  These populations were identified as separate based on their locations within the tombs, as well as their mortuary treatment.  Each had distinctively different body positioning, which suggested some sort of cultural shift.  When these two groups’ genetics were tested scholars realized they were genetically different.  The individuals interred earlier in the tombs were Europeans, whereas the groups interred later came from the Eurasian Steppes (i.e., Hungary and the Middle East).  This demonstrates that there was a demographic shift in the population with populations from the south and Middle East replacing the European populations.

 

It is unclear what specifically led to this demographic shift.  The scholars who conducted the genetic analyses did note that they found bacterial signatures for the bacterium responsible for the Plague, but it is unclear if disease was the sole reason for the great loss of life among Neolithic European populations.  Demographic profiles of the Neolithic Europeans last interred in the tombs demonstrated a large proportion of infants and juveniles, suggestive of disease being a factor in their deaths.  Their deaths could have also easily been caused by famine or warfare, however.  It is likely that there was multiple causes for the massive loss of life among European Neolithic farmers, leading bioarchaeologists to future avenues of research to discover if this is the case.

 

References

Seersholm, F.V., Ramsøe, A., Cao, J. et al. Population discontinuity in the Paris Basin linked to evidence of the Neolithic decline. Nat Ecol Evol 10, 677–688 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-026-03027-z 

Taub, B. (2026, April 10). Neolithic Europeans Suddenly Stopped Building Megalithic Tombs 5,000 Years Ago - And Now We Know Why. IFLScience, p. 1.