A comprehensive study of Neolithic remains from the Danube Gorges has identified the earliest known genetic adaptation to a diet predominantly based on freshwater fish. Published in Science Advances, the research analyzed the genomes of individuals from 5000 BCE and found markers for the efficient metabolism of specific fatty acids unique to riverine ecosystems. This genetic shift coincided with the archaeological discovery of complex stone-walled enclosures in the riverbed, interpreted as primitive fish-rearing pens.
The findings suggest that these communities were not merely opportunistic fishers but had developed a sedentary lifestyle based on the systematic management of aquatic resources. This challenges the traditional view that the transition to sedentary life was exclusively driven by cereal agriculture, highlighting a parallel path of 'aquatic domestication' in the heart of Europe.