The genetic origin of Huns, Avars, and conquering Hungarians

A comparative approach to bony changes in maxillary and frontal sinuses as indicators of upper respiratory health

OBJECTIVE

The central aspect of this study is to provide a detailed comparison of bony changes in the maxillary and frontal sinuses in human skeletal remains in an effort to assist researchers record lesions and assist with potential diagnoses.

MATERIALS

198 adult human remains from a medieval Avar population from Vienna, Austria.

METHODS

Analysis of bony changes using an endoscopic multifunctional camera with an ultra-small lens and adjustable LED lights.

RESULTS

Most common findings in both the maxillary and frontal sinuses are "pitting" and "white pitted bone". However, significant differences between the maxillary and frontal sinuses regarding the frequency and variation of bony lesions exist.

CONCLUSION

The maxillary sinuses exhibited significantly greater prevalence of bony changes compared to the frontal sinuses but frontal sinuses, which generally are less frequently affected by inflammatory, malignant, or benign lesions, may ultimately provide more informative insights in paleopathological studies concerning the health of the upper airways than the maxillary sinuses.

SIGNIFICANCE

Considering that most paleopathological studies on paranasal sinuses focus primarily on the maxillary sinuses, this study provides comparative data on the diversity of bony changes found in the frontal sinuses as a means to assist paleopathological recording and potentially eventual diagnosis.

LIMITATIONS

The lack of knowledge about the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying individual bony features complicates interpretation, particularly in paleopathological studies.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

A further examination of all paranasal sinuses (including the sphenoid sinuses and ethmoidal cells) is recommended.

Heterogeneity of the Southeast Belarusian mitochondrial gene pool

The study of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variability at the level of whole mitogenomes has significant implications for the fields of human evolution and population genetics. In this paper, we present the results of a study of the complete mtDNA variability in Belarusians from the southeastern part of the Republic of Belarus. It was found that Southeast Belarusians are characterized by a high diversity of mitochondrial genomes. The analysis of genetic distances between European populations showed significant differences between the studied Belarusian sample from the bulk of East European populations, including Slavic ethnic groups. The results of the phylogeographic analysis indicated the presence of the West Asian component (12.6%) in the Belarusian mitochondrial gene pool, which can account for the observed genetic differences between Belarusians and other Eastern Slavs (Russians and Ukrainians). The East Asian component of the mitochondrial gene pool of the studied group of Belarusians is represented by haplogroup C5c1a (2.3%). The results of the phylogeographic analysis indicated that this mtDNA subclade is predominantly present in the gene pools of Slavic peoples, including Poles, Belarusians, Ukrainians, and Russians. The evolutionary age of haplogroup C5c1a is ~4000 years and, consequently, the appearance of C5c1-haplotypes in the eastern regions of Europe may be linked to the migrations of the Caspian steppe populations to the west during the Bronze Age.

Urbanization and genetic homogenization in the medieval Low Countries revealed through a ten-century paleogenomic study of the city of Sint-Truiden

BACKGROUND

Processes shaping the formation of the present-day population structure in highly urbanized Northern Europe are still poorly understood. Gaps remain in our understanding of when and how currently observable regional differences emerged and what impact city growth, migration, and disease pandemics during and after the Middle Ages had on these processes.

RESULTS

We perform low-coverage sequencing of the genomes of 338 individuals spanning the eighth to the eighteenth centuries in the city of Sint-Truiden in Flanders, in the northern part of Belgium. The early/high medieval Sint-Truiden population was more heterogeneous, having received migrants from Scotland or Ireland, and displayed less genetic relatedness than observed today between individuals in present-day Flanders. We find differences in gene variants associated with high vitamin D blood levels between individuals with Gaulish or Germanic ancestry. Although we find evidence of a Yersinia pestis infection in 5 of the 58 late medieval burials, we were unable to detect a major population-scale impact of the second plague pandemic on genetic diversity or on the elevated differentiation of immunity genes.

CONCLUSIONS

This study reveals that the genetic homogenization process in a medieval city population in the Low Countries was protracted for centuries. Over time, the Sint-Truiden population became more similar to the current population of the surrounding Limburg province, likely as a result of reduced long-distance migration after the high medieval period, and the continuous process of local admixture of Germanic and Gaulish ancestries which formed the genetic cline observable today in the Low Countries.

Performance of qpAdm-based screens for genetic admixture on graph-shaped histories and stepping stone landscapes

qpAdm is a statistical tool that is often used for testing large sets of alternative admixture models for a target population. Despite its popularity, qpAdm remains untested on 2D stepping stone landscapes and in situations with low prestudy odds (low ratio of true to false models). We tested high-throughput qpAdm protocols with typical properties such as number of source combinations per target, model complexity, model feasibility criteria, etc. Those protocols were applied to admixture graph-shaped and stepping stone simulated histories sampled randomly or systematically. We demonstrate that false discovery rates of high-throughput qpAdm protocols exceed 50% for many parameter combinations since: (1) prestudy odds are low and fall rapidly with increasing model complexity; (2) complex migration networks violate the assumptions of the method; hence, there is poor correlation between qpAdm P-values and model optimality, contributing to low but nonzero false-positive rate and low power; and (3) although admixture fraction estimates between 0 and 1 are largely restricted to symmetric configurations of sources around a target, a small fraction of asymmetric highly nonoptimal models have estimates in the same interval, contributing to the false-positive rate. We also reinterpret large sets of qpAdm models from 2 studies in terms of source-target distance and symmetry and suggest improvements to qpAdm protocols: (1) temporal stratification of targets and proxy sources in the case of admixture graph-shaped histories, (2) focused exploration of few models for increasing prestudy odds; and (3) dense landscape sampling for increasing power and stringent conditions on estimated admixture fractions for decreasing the false-positive rate.

Demographics of genetic admixture and expansion

We explore the dynamics of genetic admixture and expansion, as well as language assimilation, through mathematical-demographic modeling. Our primary goal is to address the population-genetics 'paradox' wherein autosomes and allosomes present markedly different, if not contradictory, pictures of past migrations. We demonstrate that this paradox may find a purely demographic explanation, as single-sex and two-sex reproduction models exhibit markedly distinct dynamics. We illustrate that the three processes-allosomal expansion, autosomal admixture, and language assimilation-occur at significantly different modes, potentially explaining the varied outcomes of these processes upon the completion of ethnogenetic transitions. Our research offers valuable insights into the intricate interplay between demography, genetics, and social organization, providing implications for historical scenarios and enhancing our understanding of the long-term consequences of migration and social cohesion.

Ancient genomes reveal trans-Eurasian connections between the European Huns and the Xiongnu Empire

The Huns appeared in Europe in the 370s, establishing an Empire that reshaped West Eurasian history. Yet until today their origins remain a matter of extensive debate. Traditional theories link them to the Xiongnu, the founders of the first nomadic empire of the Mongolian steppe. The Xiongnu empire dissolved, however, ~300 y before the Huns appeared in Europe, and there is little archaeological and historical evidence of Huns in the steppe during this time gap. Furthermore, despite the rich 5th to 6th centuries current era (CE) archaeological record of the Carpathian Basin, the cultural elements of connections with the steppe are limited to few findings and even fewer solitary eastern-type burials. In this study, we coanalyze archaeological evidence with 35 newly sequenced and published genomic data for a total of 370 individuals-from 5th to 6th century CE contexts in the Carpathian Basin including 10 Hun-period eastern-type burials, 2nd to 5th century sites across Central Asia and 2nd c. before current era (BCE) to 1st c. CE Xiongnu period sites across the Mongolian steppe. We find no evidence for the presence of a large eastern/steppe descent community among the Hun- and post-Hun-period Carpathian Basin population. We also observe a high genetic diversity among the eastern-type burials that recapitulates the variability observed across the Eurasian Steppe. This suggests a mixed origin of the incoming steppe conquerors. Nevertheless, long-shared genomic tracts provide compelling evidence of genetic lineages directly connecting some individuals of the highest Xiongnu-period elite with 5th to 6th century CE Carpathian Basin individuals, showing that some European Huns descended from them.

Performance of qpAdm-based screens for genetic admixture on admixture-graph-shaped histories and stepping-stone landscapes

qpAdm is a statistical tool that is often used for testing large sets of alternative admixture models for a target population. Despite its popularity, qpAdm remains untested on two-dimensional stepping-stone landscapes and in situations with low pre-study odds (low ratio of true to false models). We tested high-throughput qpAdm protocols with typical properties such as number of source combinations per target, model complexity, model feasibility criteria, etc. Those protocols were applied to admixture-graph-shaped and stepping-stone simulated histories sampled randomly or systematically. We demonstrate that false discovery rates of high-throughput qpAdm protocols exceed 50% for many parameter combinations since: 1) pre-study odds are low and fall rapidly with increasing model complexity; 2) complex migration networks violate the assumptions of the method, hence there is poor correlation between qpAdm p-values and model optimality, contributing to low but non-zero false positive rate and low power; 3) although admixture fraction estimates between 0 and 1 are largely restricted to symmetric configurations of sources around a target, a small fraction of asymmetric highly non-optimal models have estimates in the same interval, contributing to the false positive rate. We also re-interpret large sets of qpAdm models from two studies in terms of source-target distance and symmetry and suggest improvements to qpAdm protocols: 1) temporal stratification of targets and proxy sources in the case of admixture-graph-shaped histories; 2) focused exploration of few models for increasing pre-study odds; 3) dense landscape sampling for increasing power and stringent conditions on estimated admixture fractions for decreasing the false positive rate.

Ancient genomes reveal Avar-Hungarian transformations in the 9th-10th centuries CE Carpathian Basin

During the Early Medieval period, the Carpathian Basin witnessed substantial demographic shifts, notably under the Avar dominance for ~250 years, followed by the settlement of early Hungarians in the region during the late 9th century CE. This study presents the genetic analysis of 296 ancient samples, including 103 shotgun-sequenced genomes, from present-day Western Hungary. By using identity-by-descent segment sharing networks, this research offers detailed insights into the population structure and dynamics of the region from the 5th to 11th centuries CE, with specific focus on certain microregions. Our evaluations reveal spatially different histories in Transdanubia even between communities in close geographical proximity, highlighting the importance of dense sampling and analyses. Our findings highlight extensive homogenization and reorganization processes, as well as discontinuities between Hun, Avar, and Hungarian conquest period immigrant groups, alongside the spread and integration of ancestry related to the Hungarian conquerors.

'But no living man am I': Bioarchaeological evaluation of the first-known female burial with weapon from the 10th-century-CE Carpathian Basin

Female burials equipped with weapons, a topic of interest among scholars and the general public, remain rare occurrences in archaeological records. The interpretation of such cases requires an interdisciplinary approach and a comprehensive evaluation of the available evidence, particularly regarding the sex and potential lifestyle of the deceased. Consequently, data on specific populations, regions, and time periods remain scarce. For instance, no such case has been reported before concerning the 10th century CE of the Carpathian Basin, known as the Hungarian Conquest period. Our study focuses on an interdisciplinary investigation of a previously known burial, grave No. 63 from the 10th-century-CE cemetery of Sárrétudvari-Hízóföld (eastern Hungary), which represents a unique case with grave goods including jewelry typically associated with females and archery equipment traditionally linked to males. Through archeological, anthropological, and archaeogenetic analyses, we aim to determine if this case represents the first-known female burial with weapon from the 10th-century-CE Carpathian Basin. Despite the poor bone preservation, a factor limiting data recording and evaluation, all analyses consistently indicate that the skeletal remains belonged to a female individual. The burial customs, including weapon equipment composition show analogies with male counterparts in the series. In addition, the pattern of pathological and supposed activity-related changes observed on the bones may have resulted from regular physical activity during her lifetime. In summary, our findings support the identification of this case as the first known female burial with weapon from the 10th-century-CE Carpathian Basin.

Genetic Polymorphism of Y-Chromosome in Turkmen Population from Turkmenistan

This study investigates the Y-chromosome genetic diversity of the Turkmen population in Turkmenistan, analyzing 23 Y-STR loci for the first time in a sample of 100 individuals. Combined with comparative data from Turkmen populations in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Russia, and Uzbekistan, this analysis offers insights into the genetic structure and relationships among Turkmen populations across regions across Central Asia and the Near East. High haplotype diversity in the Turkmen of Turkmenistan is shaped by founder effects (lineage expansions) from distinct haplogroups, with haplogroups Q and R1a predominating. Subhaplogroups Q1a and Q1b identified in Turkmenistan trace back to ancient Y-chromosome lineages from the Bronze Age. Comparative analyses, including genetic distance (RST), median-joining network, and multidimensional scaling (MDS), highlight the genetic proximity of the Turkmen in Turkmenistan to those in Afghanistan and Iran, while Iraqi Turkmen display unique characteristics, aligning with Near Eastern populations. This study underscores the Central Asian genetic affinity across most Turkmen populations. It demonstrates the value of deep-sequencing Y-chromosome data in tracing the patrilineal history of Central Asia for future studies. These findings contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of Turkmen genetic ancestry and add new data to the ongoing study of Central Asian population genetics.

Pervasive findings of directional selection realize the promise of ancient DNA to elucidate human adaptation

We present a method for detecting evidence of natural selection in ancient DNA time-series data that leverages an opportunity not utilized in previous scans: testing for a consistent trend in allele frequency change over time. By applying this to 8433 West Eurasians who lived over the past 14000 years and 6510 contemporary people, we find an order of magnitude more genome-wide significant signals than previous studies: 347 independent loci with >99% probability of selection. Previous work showed that classic hard sweeps driving advantageous mutations to fixation have been rare over the broad span of human evolution, but in the last ten millennia, many hundreds of alleles have been affected by strong directional selection. Discoveries include an increase from ~0% to ~20% in 4000 years for the major risk factor for celiac disease at HLA-DQB1; a rise from ~0% to ~8% in 6000 years of blood type B; and fluctuating selection at the TYK2 tuberculosis risk allele rising from ~2% to ~9% from ~5500 to ~3000 years ago before dropping to ~3%. We identify instances of coordinated selection on alleles affecting the same trait, with the polygenic score today predictive of body fat percentage decreasing by around a standard deviation over ten millennia, consistent with the "Thrifty Gene" hypothesis that a genetic predisposition to store energy during food scarcity became disadvantageous after farming. We also identify selection for combinations of alleles that are today associated with lighter skin color, lower risk for schizophrenia and bipolar disease, slower health decline, and increased measures related to cognitive performance (scores on intelligence tests, household income, and years of schooling). These traits are measured in modern industrialized societies, so what phenotypes were adaptive in the past is unclear. We estimate selection coefficients at 9.9 million variants, enabling study of how Darwinian forces couple to allelic effects and shape the genetic architecture of complex traits.

Testing times: disentangling admixture histories in recent and complex demographies using ancient DNA

Our knowledge of human evolutionary history has been greatly advanced by paleogenomics. Since the 2020s, the study of ancient DNA has increasingly focused on reconstructing the recent past. However, the accuracy of paleogenomic methods in resolving questions of historical and archaeological importance amidst the increased demographic complexity and decreased genetic differentiation remains an open question. We evaluated the performance and behavior of two commonly used methods, qpAdm and the f3-statistic, on admixture inference under a diversity of demographic models and data conditions. We performed two complementary simulation approaches-firstly exploring a wide demographic parameter space under four simple demographic models of varying complexities and configurations using branch-length data from two chromosomes-and secondly, we analyzed a model of Eurasian history composed of 59 populations using whole-genome data modified with ancient DNA conditions such as SNP ascertainment, data missingness, and pseudohaploidization. We observe that population differentiation is the primary factor driving qpAdm performance. Notably, while complex gene flow histories influence which models are classified as plausible, they do not reduce overall performance. Under conditions reflective of the historical period, qpAdm most frequently identifies the true model as plausible among a small candidate set of closely related populations. To increase the utility for resolving fine-scaled hypotheses, we provide a heuristic for further distinguishing between candidate models that incorporates qpAdm model P-values and f3-statistics. Finally, we demonstrate a significant performance increase for qpAdm using whole-genome branch-length f2-statistics, highlighting the potential for improved demographic inference that could be achieved with future advancements in f-statistic estimations.

Long shared haplotypes identify the Southern Urals as a primary source for the 10th century Hungarians

During the Hungarian Conquest in the 10th century CE, the early medieval Magyars, a group of mounted warriors from Eastern Europe, settled in the Carpathian Basin. They likely introduced the Hungarian language to this new settlement area, during an event documented by both written sources and archaeological evidence. Previous archaeogenetic research identified the newcomers as migrants from the Eurasian steppe. However, genome-wide ancient DNA from putative source populations has not been available to test alternative theories of their precise source. We generated genome-wide ancient DNA data for 131 individuals from candidate archaeological contexts in the Circum-Uralic region in present-day Russia. Our results tightly link the Magyars to people of the Early Medieval Karayakupovo archaeological horizon on both the European and Asian sides of the southern Urals. Our analyes show that ancestors of the people of the Karayakupovo archaeological horizon were established in the Southern Urals by the Iron Age and that their descendants persisted locally in the Volga-Kama region until at least the 14th century.

Phylogenetic insights into the genetic legacies of Hungarian-speaking communities in the Carpathian Basin

This study focuses on exploring the uniparental genetic lineages of Hungarian-speaking minorities residing in rural villages of Baranja (Croatia) and the Zobor region (Slovakia). We aimed to identify ancestral lineages by examining genetic markers distributed across the entire mitogenome and on the Y-chromosome. This allowed us to discern disparities in regional genetic structures within these communities. By integrating our newly acquired genetic data from a total of 168 participants with pre-existing Eurasian and ancient DNA datasets, our goal was to enrich the understanding of the genetic history trajectories of Carpathian Basin populations. Our findings suggest that while population-based analyses may not be sufficiently robust to detect fine-scale uniparental genetic patterns with the sample sizes at hand, phylogenetic analysis of well-characterized Y-chromosomal Short Tandem Repeat (STR) data and entire mitogenome sequences did uncover multiple lineage ties to far-flung regions and eras. While the predominant portions of both paternal and maternal DNA align with the East-Central European spectrum, rarer subhaplogroups and lineages have unveiled ancient ties to both prehistoric and historic populations spanning Europe and Eastern Eurasia. This research augments the expansive field of phylogenetics, offering critical perspectives on the genetic constitution and heritage of the communities in East-Central Europe.

Network of large pedigrees reveals social practices of Avar communities

From AD 567-568, at the onset of the Avar period, populations from the Eurasian Steppe settled in the Carpathian Basin for approximately 250 years1. Extensive sampling for archaeogenomics (424 individuals) and isotopes, combined with archaeological, anthropological and historical contextualization of four Avar-period cemeteries, allowed for a detailed description of the genomic structure of these communities and their kinship and social practices. We present a set of large pedigrees, reconstructed using ancient DNA, spanning nine generations and comprising around 300 individuals. We uncover a strict patrilineal kinship system, in which patrilocality and female exogamy were the norm and multiple reproductive partnering and levirate unions were common. The absence of consanguinity indicates that this society maintained a detailed memory of ancestry over generations. These kinship practices correspond with previous evidence from historical sources and anthropological research on Eurasian Steppe societies2. Network analyses of identity-by-descent DNA connections suggest that social cohesion between communities was maintained via female exogamy. Finally, despite the absence of major ancestry shifts, the level of resolution of our analyses allowed us to detect genetic discontinuity caused by the replacement of a community at one of the sites. This was paralleled with changes in the archaeological record and was probably a result of local political realignment.

The Allen Ancient DNA Resource (AADR) a curated compendium of ancient human genomes

More than two hundred papers have reported genome-wide data from ancient humans. While the raw data for the vast majority are fully publicly available testifying to the commitment of the paleogenomics community to open data, formats for both raw data and meta-data differ. There is thus a need for uniform curation and a centralized, version-controlled compendium that researchers can download, analyze, and reference. Since 2019, we have been maintaining the Allen Ancient DNA Resource (AADR), which aims to provide an up-to-date, curated version of the world's published ancient human DNA data, represented at more than a million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at which almost all ancient individuals have been assayed. The AADR has gone through six public releases at the time of writing and review of this manuscript, and crossed the threshold of >10,000 individuals with published genome-wide ancient DNA data at the end of 2022. This note is intended as a citable descriptor of the AADR.

Ancestry and kinship in a Late Antiquity-Early Middle Ages cemetery in the Eastern Italian Alps

In South Tyrol (Eastern Italian Alps), during Late Antiquity-Early Middle Ages, archeological records indicate cultural hybridization among alpine groups and peoples of various origin. Using paleogenomics, we reconstructed the ancestry of 20 individuals (4th-7th cent. AD) from a cemetery to analyze whether they had heterogeneous or homogeneous ancestry and to study their social organization. The results revealed a primary genetic ancestry from southern Europe and additional ancestries from south-western, western, and northern Europe, suggesting that cultural hybridization was accompanied by complex genetic admixture. Kinship analyses found no genetic relatedness between the only two individuals buried with grave goods. Instead, a father-son pair was discovered in one multiple grave, together with unrelated individuals and one possible non-local female. These genetic findings indicate the presence of a high social status familia, which is supported by the cultural materials and the proximity of the grave to the most sacred area of the church.

Testing Times: Challenges in Disentangling Admixture Histories in Recent and Complex Demographies

Paleogenomics has expanded our knowledge of human evolutionary history. Since the 2020s, the study of ancient DNA has increased its focus on reconstructing the recent past. However, the accuracy of paleogenomic methods in answering questions of historical and archaeological importance amidst the increased demographic complexity and decreased genetic differentiation within the historical period remains an open question. We used two simulation approaches to evaluate the limitations and behavior of commonly used methods, qpAdm and the f3-statistic, on admixture inference. The first is based on branch-length data simulated from four simple demographic models of varying complexities and configurations. The second, an analysis of Eurasian history composed of 59 populations using whole-genome data modified with ancient DNA conditions such as SNP ascertainment, data missingness, and pseudo-haploidization. We show that under conditions resembling historical populations, qpAdm can identify a small candidate set of true sources and populations closely related to them. However, in typical ancient DNA conditions, qpAdm is unable to further distinguish between them, limiting its utility for resolving fine-scaled hypotheses. Notably, we find that complex gene-flow histories generally lead to improvements in the performance of qpAdm and observe no bias in the estimation of admixture weights. We offer a heuristic for admixture inference that incorporates admixture weight estimate and P-values of qpAdm models, and f3-statistics to enhance the power to distinguish between multiple plausible candidates. Finally, we highlight the future potential of qpAdm through whole-genome branch-length f2-statistics, demonstrating the improved demographic inference that could be achieved with advancements in f-statistic estimations.

Mitogenome analysis reveals predominantly ancient Yellow River origin of population inhabiting Datong agro-pastoral ecotone along Great Wall

The Datong Basin was an important arena for population movement and admixture between the Yellow River Valley and Eastern Steppe. In historical materials, the region was often the setting for a tug-of-war between Han farmers and non-Han nomads. The genetic makeup and population history of this Datong population has, however, remained uncertain. In this study, we analysed 289 mitogenomes from Datong individuals. Our primary findings were: (1) population summary statistics analysis revealed a high level of genetic diversity and strong signals of population expansion in the Datong population; (2) inter-population comparisons (PCA and Fst heatmap) exhibited a close clustering between the Datong population and Northern Han, especially northern frontier groups, such as the Inner Mongolia Han, Heilongjiang Han, Liaoning Han and Tianjin Han; (3) phylogeographic analysis of complete mitogenomes revealed the presence of different components in the maternal gene pools of Datong population-the northern East Asian component was dominant (66.44%), whereas the southern East Asians were the second largest component with 31.49%. We also observed a much reduced west Eurasian (2.07%) component; (4) direct comparisons with ancient groups showed closer relationship between Datong and Yellow River farmers than Eastern Steppe nomads. Despite, therefore, centuries of Eastern Steppe nomadic control over the Datong area, Yellow River farmers had a much more significant impact on the Datong population.

Genetic Analysis of Mingrelians Reveals Long-Term Continuity of Populations in Western Georgia (Caucasus)

To elucidate the population history of the Caucasus, we conducted a survey of genetic diversity in Samegrelo (Mingrelia), western Georgia. We collected DNA samples and genealogical information from 485 individuals residing in 30 different locations, the vast majority of whom being Mingrelian speaking. From these DNA samples, we generated mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region sequences for all 485 participants (female and male), Y-short tandem repeat haplotypes for the 372 male participants, and analyzed all samples at nearly 590,000 autosomal single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) plus around 33,000 on the sex chromosomes, with 27,000 SNP removed for missingness, using the GenoChip 2.0+ microarray. The resulting data were compared with those from populations from Anatolia, the Caucasus, the Near East, and Europe. Overall, Mingrelians exhibited considerable mtDNA haplogroup diversity, having high frequencies of common West Eurasian haplogroups (H, HV, I, J, K, N1, R1, R2, T, U, and W. X2) and low frequencies of East Eurasian haplogroups (A, C, D, F, and G). From a Y-chromosome standpoint, Mingrelians possessed a variety of haplogroups, including E1b1b, G2a, I2, J1, J2, L, Q, R1a, and R1b. Analysis of autosomal SNP data further revealed that Mingrelians are genetically homogeneous and cluster with other modern-day South Caucasus populations. When compared with ancient DNA samples from Bronze Age archaeological contexts in the broader region, these data indicate that the Mingrelian gene pool began taking its current form at least by this period, probably in conjunction with the formation of a distinct linguistic community.

Genetic identification of members of the prominent Báthory aristocratic family

The Báthory family was one of the most powerful noble families in the medieval Hungarian Kingdom. Their influence peaked during the Ottoman occupation of Hungary, when the only partially autonomous region of the country was Transylvania, under Turkish protectorate. Several members of the family became Princes of Transylvania, and one of them, István Báthory, was also the elected King of Poland. We hereby present the first genetic data about this extinct family. Archaeological excavations in Pericei, a settlement now part of Romania, revealed the former family chapel of the Báthory family. Through this work, two Báthory family members were successfully identified among the 13 skeletons found at the site. The presence of Y chromosome haplogroup R-S498 fits the historical account describing the family's German (Swabian) origins. Their genomic composition also indicates a family of Germanic origin that intermixed with medieval Hungarians.

The Rurikids: The First Experience of Reconstructing the Genetic Portrait of the Ruling Family of Medieval Rus' Based on Paleogenomic Data

The Rurikids were the reigning house of Rus', its principalities and, ultimately the Tsardom of Russia, for seven centuries: from the IX to the end of the XVI century. According to the Primary Chronicle (the Tale of Bygone Years), the main chronicle of Rus', the Rurik dynasty was founded by the Varangian prince Rurik, invited to reign in Novgorod in 862, but still there is no direct genetic evidence of the origin of the early Rurikids. This research, for the first time, provides a genome-wide paleogenetic analysis of bone remains belonging to one of the Rurikids, Prince Dmitry Alexandrovich (?-1294), the son of the Grand Prince of Vladimir Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky (1221-1263). It has been established that his Y chromosome belongs to the N1a haplogroup. Most of the modern Rurikids, according to their genealogies, belonging to the N1a haplogroup, have the most similar variants of Y chromosomes to each other, as well as to the Y chromosome of Prince Dmitry Alexandrovich. Genome-wide data of the medieval and modern Rurikids unequivocally indicates that they belong to the N1a haplogroup of the Y chromosome, starting at least from the XI century (since the time of Prince Yaroslav the Wise). All the other alleged Rurikids, both ancient and modern, being carriers of other haplogroups (R1a, I2a), possess high heterogeneity of the sequence of Y chromosomes, meaning that we cannot confirm their common ancestry. The most probable ancestors of Prince Dmitry Alexandrovich in the male line were the men who left the burial ground Bolshoy Oleny Island on the coast of the Kola Peninsula about 3,600 years ago. The reconstruction of the genome of Prince Dmitry Alexandrovich indicates the contribution of three ancestral components to his origin: (1) the early medieval population of the east of Scandinavia from the island of Oland, (2) representatives of the steppe nomadic peoples of the Eurasian steppes of the Iron Age or the early medieval population of central Europe (steppe nomads from the territory of Hungary), and (3) the ancient East-Eurasian component. Reliable statistics were also obtained when the Scandinavians were replaced with the Medieval Russian Slavic populations of the XI century. Thus, for the first time, we have shown the complex nature of interethnic interactions in the formation of the nobility of medieval Rus' on the example of the ancient Rurikid.

Integrating Linguistic, Archaeological and Genetic Perspectives Unfold the Origin of Ugrians

In the last year two publications shed new light on the linguistic and genomic history of ancient Uralic speakers. Here I show that these novel genetic and linguistic data are compatible with each-other and with the archaeological inferences, allowing us to formulate a very plausible hypothesis about the prehistory of Ugric speakers. Both genetic and archaeological data indicate the admixture of the Mezhovskaya population with northern forest hunters in the late Bronze Age, which gave rise to a "proto-Ugric" community. This finding is consistent with the linguistic reconstruction of the proto-Ugric language. Genetic data indicate an admixture of proto-Hungarians with early Sarmatians and early Huns, and I show that the first admixture can be reconciled with the formation of the Gorokhovo culture and its integration into the early Sarmatian Prokhorovka culture, while the second admixture corresponds to the transformation of the Sargat and Sarmatian cultures due to Xiongnu invasions.

High Coverage Mitogenomes and Y-Chromosomal Typing Reveal Ancient Lineages in the Modern-Day Székely Population in Romania

Here we present 115 whole mitogenomes and 92 Y-chromosomal Short Tandem Repeat (STR) and Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) profiles from a Hungarian ethnic group, the Székelys (in Romanian: Secuii, in German: Sekler), living in southeast Transylvania (Romania). The Székelys can be traced back to the 12th century in the region, and numerous scientific theories exist as to their origin. We carefully selected sample providers that had local ancestors inhabiting small villages in the area of Odorheiu Secuiesc/Székelyudvarhely in Romania. The results of our research and the reported data signify a qualitative leap compared to previous studies since it presents the first complete mitochondrial DNA sequences and Y-chromosomal profiles of 23 STRs from the region. We evaluated the results with population genetic and phylogenetic methods in the context of the modern and ancient populations that are either geographically or historically related to the Székelys. Our results demonstrate a predominantly local uniparental make-up of the population that also indicates limited admixture with neighboring populations. Phylogenetic analyses confirmed the presumed eastern origin of certain maternal (A, C, D) and paternal (Q, R1a) lineages, and, in some cases, they could also be linked to ancient DNA data from the Migration Period (5th-9th centuries AD) and Hungarian Conquest Period (10th century AD) populations.

The paternal genetic legacy of Hungarian-speaking Rétköz (Hungary) and Váh valley (Slovakia) populations

One hundred and six Rétköz and 48 Váh valley samples were collected from the contact zones of Hungarian-Slovakian territories and were genotyped for Y-chromosomal haplotypes and haplogroups. The results were compared with contemporary and archaic data from published sources. The genetic composition of the Rétköz population from Hungary and the Váh valley population from Slovakia indicates different histories. In the Rétköz population, the paternal lineages that were also found in the Hungarian Conquerors, such as R1a-Z93, N-M46, Q-M242, and R1b-L23, were better preserved. These haplogroups occurred in 10% of the population. The population of the Váh valley, however, is characterized by the complete absence of these haplogroups. Our study did not detect a genetic link between the Váh valley population and the Hungarian Conquerors; the genetic composition of the Váh valley population is similar to that of the surrounding Indo-European populations. The Hungarian Rétköz males shared common haplotypes with ancient Xiongnu, ancient Avar, Caucasian Avar, Abkhazian, Balkarian, and Circassian males within haplogroups R1a-Z93, N1c-M46, and R1b-L23, indicating a common genetic footprint. Another difference between the two studied Hungarian populations can be concluded from the Fst-based MDS plot. The Váh valley, in the western part of the Hungarian-Slovakian contact zone, is genetically closer to the Western Europeans. In contrast, Rétköz is in the eastern part of that zone and therefore closer to the Eastern Europeans.

Historical human migrations: From the steppe to the basin

Many migrations during human history have made the Carpathian Basin the melting pot of Europe. New ancient genomes confirm the Asian origin of European Huns, Avars and Magyars and huge within-group variability that is linked with social structure.