The demographic history of East-Central Europe after the Neolithic period remains poorly explored, despite this region being on the confluence of various ecological zones and cultural entities. Here, the descendants of societies associated with steppe pastoralists form Early Bronze Age were followed by Middle Bronze Age populations displaying unique characteristics. Particularly, the predominance of collective burials, the scale of which, was previously seen only in the Neolithic. The extent to which this re-emergence of older traditions is a result of genetic shift or social changes in the MBA is a subject of debate. Here by analysing 91 newly generated genomes from Bronze Age individuals from present Poland and Ukraine, we discovered that Middle Bronze Age populations were formed by an additional admixture event involving a population with relatively high proportions of genetic component associated with European hunter-gatherers and that their social structure was based on, primarily patrilocal, multigenerational kin-groups.

Archaeological company Dolmen Marcin Przybyła Michał Podsiadło s c Serkowskiego Sq 8 3 30 512 Cracow Poland

Archaeological Museum in Cracow Senacka 3 31 002 Cracow Poland

Archaeological Museum in Poznań Wodna 27 61 781 Poznań Poland

Archaeological Research Laboratory Department of Archaeology and Classical Studies Stockholm University Lilla Frescativägen 7 SE 106 91 Stockholm Sweden

Centre for Anthropological Research University of Johannesburg Auckland Park 2006 Johannesburg South Africa

Centre for Palaeogentics Svante Arrhenius väg 20C SE 106 91 Stockholm Sweden

Department of Anthropology and Archaeology University of Bristol 43 Woodland Road Bristol BS8 1UU UK

Department of History and Cultural Heritage University of Pope Jan Paweł 2 Kanonicza 9 31 002 Cracow Poland

Department of Material and Spiritual Culture Lublin Museum Zamkowa 9 20 117 Lublin Poland

Faculty of Archaeology Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 7 61 614 Poznań Poland

Human Evolution Department of Organismal Biology Uppsala University Norbyvägen 18C SE 752 36 Uppsala Sweden

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology Polish Academy of Science Sławkowska 17 31 016 Cracow Poland

Institute of Archaeology Maria Curie Skłodowska University M C Skłodowska sq 4 20 031 Lublin Poland

Institute of Archaeology University of Gdańsk ul Bielańska 5 80 851 Gdańsk Poland

Institute of Biological Sciences Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw Wóycickiego 1 3 01 938 Warsaw Poland

Institute of Human Biology and Evolution Faculty of Biology Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6 61 614 Poznań Poland

Laboratory of Genomics and Bioinformatics Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences Vídeňská 1083 142 20 Prague 4 Prague Czech Republic

Molecular Biology Techniques Laboratory Faculty of Biology Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6 61 614 Poznań Poland

Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography in Łódź Plac Wolności 14 91 415 Łódź Poland

Muzeum Archeologiczne w Biskupinie Biskupin 17 88 410 Gąsawa Poland

SciLifeLab Stockholm and Uppsala Sweden

Ternopil Regional Center for Protection and Research of Cultural Heritage Sites Kyyivs'ka 3а 46016 Ternopil Ukraine

Wojewódzki Urząd Ochrony Zabytków Gołębia 2 61 840 Poznań Poland

Zaliztsi Museum of Local Lore Schevchenka 51 Zalizhtsi 47243 Ternopil reg Ukraine

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