 We found that the skeleton remains of individuals from Britain who live shortly after this time have a very different DNA profile to those who came before. It seems there was a large population turnover. These are the words of Professor Ian Barnes, research leader in ancient DNA at the National History Museum. But what culture and period is he discussing? Well, he is not discussing the Vikings, the Anglosaxons, the Normans or any other later group. He is discussing a people that lived thousands of years before this, a forgotten people in the history of Britain to a law's degree, namely the Bellbeaker culture. But who were the Bellbeakers? What was their culture like? And how profound was their impact on the genetics of Britain? Very quickly you can support this work by buying me a coffee, top link in the video description below. Thank you and now on with the video. Now before we move on to discuss the Bellbeaker culture specifically in more detail, it's important to understand the history of population movements into Britain following the last Ice Age, as this will help us put the Bellbeaker culture into context. About 11,700 years ago, glaciers that had covered most of Britain in which it essentially made these lands uninhabitable for thousands of years, receded for good. Hunter-gatherers then moved in shortly after this. Then about 6,000 years ago, farmers originating from the Mediterranean moved into Britain. Their ancestors had come from modern-day Turkey or Anatolia. This farming population was probably much larger than that of the hunter-gatherers, and they brought new technologies into Britain. Then about 4,400 years ago, a second population of farmers entered Britain, bringing with them distinctive beaker pottery. These Bellbeakers came over from continental Europe, but their ancestors had must've come from the Eurasian steppe. The Bellbeaker culture gets its name from the stink of Bellbeakers that had been filmed all across Europe. And these were drinking vessels in the shape of inverted bells. They were often decorated in horizontal zones of finely toothed stamps. The Bellbeaker culture arose around 2,800 BC, and it lasted in Britain for around 1,000 years until 1800 BC. The Bellbeaker culture replaced and interacted with previous archaeological cultures in Europe, such as the earlier Cordy Bear culture and the Funnel Beaker culture. The people associated with this culture are known as the Beaker people. At war-like stock, they were primarily bowmen, but they were also armed with flat daggers or spearheads of copper. Their extensive search for copper and gold greatly accelerated the spread of bronze metallurgy in Europe. They probably originated in Spain, but they soon spread out across Europe and into Britain and Ireland, probably in search of metals. They came into contact with numerous other cultures, including the Battle Axe or Single Grave Culture, which was also characterised by beaker-shaped pottery, though different in detail, and by the use of horses and a shaft-hole Battle Axe, the two cultures gradually intermixed and later spread from Central Europe to Eastern England. Now, what about the impact of the Beaker people on the genetics of Britain? Well, it seems over a period of hundreds of years, the migration of the Beaker people into Britain led to almost the complete replacement of the earlier inhabitants of Britain. Many also argue that the Beaker people would have changed to be the people of Britain looked, bringing a reduction in skin and eye pigmentation, with lighter skin, blue eyes and blonde hair becoming more common in the population. If we look at the impact of the Beaker people in more detail, a 2018 study published in Nature analysed 400 Neolithic, Copper Age and Bronze Age Europeans, including 226 individuals associated with beaker complex artefacts. The authors found that the spread of the beaker complex introduced high levels of step-related ancestry and was associated with the replacement of approximately 90% of Britain's gene pool within a few hundred years, continuing the East to West expansion that had brought step-related ancestry into Central and Northern Europe over the previous centuries. The Beaker people clearly had a profound impact on the culture and genetics of ancient Britain and are probably ancient ancestors of many people watching this video, and perhaps myself. They are also related and connected to many other cultures across Europe, including the powerful Yamnaya people. To find out more about the Yamnaya people, please click here. Thanks for watching for ways to support, please check out my merch store and the various other ways you can support this channel. Thanks again for watching and I'll see you next time.