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Lactase persistence (LP), the continued expression of lactase into adulthood, is the most strongly selected single gene trait over the last 10,000 years in multiple human populations. It has been posited that the primary allele causing LP among Eurasians, rs4988235-A [1], only rose to appreciable frequencies during the Bronze and Iron Ages [2, 3], long after humans started consuming milk from domesticated animals. This rapid rise has been attributed to an influx of people from the Pontic-Caspian steppe that began around 5,000 years ago [4, 5]. We investigate the spatiotemporal spread of LP through an analysis of 14 warriors from the Tollense Bronze Age battlefield in northern Germany (∼3,200 before present, BP), the oldest large-scale conflict site north of the Alps. Genetic data indicate that these individuals represent a single unstructured Central/Northern European population. We complemented these data with genotypes of 18 individuals from the Bronze Age site Mokrin in Serbia (∼4,100 to ∼3,700 BP) and 37 individuals from Eastern Europe and the Pontic-Caspian Steppe region, predating both Bronze Age sites (∼5,980 to ∼3,980 BP). We infer low LP in all three regions, i.e., in northern Germany and South-eastern and Eastern Europe, suggesting that the surge of rs4988235 in Central and Northern Europe was unlikely caused by Steppe expansions. We estimate a selection coefficient of 0.06 and conclude that the selection was ongoing in various parts of Europe over the last 3,000 years., Competing Interests: Declaration of Interests The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Trephination of the cranial vault is the oldest known surgical procedure and has often been reported in the literature. The present study was performed to study the incidence, the techniques used, and possible indications for trephinations in the region of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the most northeastern German state., Methods: One hundred thirteen of a total of 115 Neolithic (c. 2000-3500 BC) skulls and eight smaller skull fragments found in the region of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern were examined. Defects and abrasions were detected in 31 of these skulls and underwent further examination (careful microscopic and/or endoscopic examination, three-dimensional computed tomography, and x-rays)., Results: Six skulls showed defects resulting from trephination, mainly located along the midline or in the left parieto-occipital region. There was good osteological evidence that at least five of these operations had been survived. Two different techniques for trephination (circular cuts and scraping) had been used., Conclusion: From the present study, we conclude that the incidence of trephination in Neolithic skulls in our region is at least 5% and that these operations had been survived in singular cases. There is increasing evidence that these procedures were intended to be curative.