New paleogenomic research conducted on remains from the Cucuteni-Trypillia culture in modern-day Moldova has identified a high degree of genetic diversity within its massive Neolithic settlements. The study, appearing in Science Advances, found that these early 'megacities' were not homogeneous; rather, they were composed of distinct genetic clusters that appear to correspond with different craft-specialization quarters.
This suggests that social stratification and guild-like structures may have had a biological footprint as early as 5,000 BCE. The analysis also detected the arrival of the first 'forest-steppe' genetic markers centuries before the massive Yamnaya expansions, indicating a much slower and more integrated transition between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age in Eastern Europe.