(02-26-2024, 03:56 AM)FR9CZ6 Wrote: Ancient DNA samples from Iron Age, Roman Period and Migration Period Transylvania are coming.
Contrasting genetic impacts of eastern migrants on Early Iron Age communities in Hungary and Transylvania
Content:
Ancient DNA from Iron Age nomads across the Eurasian steppe, including individuals from “Scythian” contexts, has revealed their varied genetic origins and high genetic diversity. However, little is known about their genetic impact and legacy on European communities. By analysing genomes of “Scythian” Age individuals from Transylvania (n=67, unpublished) and Hungary (n=7, previously published), we find ~40% eastern admixture in Transylvania but 0% in Hungary. In contrast to the trans-Eurasian migrations to the Pannonian Basin in the Avar period, the eastern ancestry in Transylvanian “Scythians” largely came from “Scythian” communities in neighbouring Moldova and Ukraine, which admixed into the pre-existing Balkan genetic substratum. In addition to eastern ancestry, we find multiple genetic outlier individuals from central/northern Europe and southern Balkans buried in “Scythian” contexts, implying a dynamic admixture process associated with the formation of these “Scythian” communities. From Transylvania, we reconstruct several families from “Scythian” burial contexts up to three generations deep, most consisting of members with and without eastern ancestry, documenting real-time admixture between locals and eastern migrants. Among these is also a case of siblings buried 11km apart. However, this eastern ancestry did not persist after the “Scythian” period, with subsequent “Celtic” Age associated individuals (n=6) carrying primarily the pre-existing local ancestry with limited evidence of additional central European or eastern gene flow.
https://submissions.e-a-a.org/eaa2024/re...tract=4077
Seeking for the Dacian Dream. Exploring ancient mobility in Roman Dacia
Content:
The province of Dacia, now part of modern-day Romania, was annexed into the Roman Empire by Trajan in 106 AD, drawing people from ancient Italy and other areas, attracted by the prospect of enhancing their livelihoods. Apulum was strategically selected by the Romans as the site for a legionary fort where the Legio XIII Gemina was stationed until the withdrawal of the Roman administration around 270 AD. Initially, a civilian settlement emerged near the castrum. The transformation into one of the most prominent Romano-Dacian settlements featuring two urban centres, still requires in-depth examination in terms of social and demographic change from a bioarchaeological perspective. This interdisciplinary research examines a sample of individuals buried in the Pitchforks Hill (Dealul Furcilor, ADF) biritual necropolis of the Roman Apulum, which is the largest identified in Dacia so far with its over 1000 burials, being utilised throughout the Roman rule. Teeth samples from 34 Roman-era individuals from ADF necropolis were collected for Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) analysis. After applying rigorous quality controls, 21 samples were chosen for the downstream analyses, with their genetic variants being filtered using the 1240K SNP panel. PCA, F statistics, and Admixture modeling were utilised to assess the genome-wide variation of the ADF group in relation to coeval and current-day populations. The genetic diversity within the ADF group aligns with the broader European genetic landscape. However, it is possible to distinguish two primary clusters: the majority of the samples share genetic similarities with Mediterranean populations, while a minority shows closer ties to Eastern European groups. These findings significantly enhance our understanding of the Romanisation in the region, revealing the genetic imprints left by legionaries and other Italic peoples who settled in Apulum compared to those who migrated from nearby regions, whose genomic makeup is anticipated to be markedly distinct.
https://submissions.e-a-a.org/eaa2024/re...tract=3191
Multidisciplinary bio-archaeological approach to study the population transformations during the Migration Period in the Eastern Carpathian Basin.
Content:
Archaeological and historical sources describe a relatively stable scenario in the Tisza region at the beginning of the first millennium, with four centuries of continuous presence of “Sarmatian” communities reported in Roman written sources as in archaeological finds.
With the beginning of the 5th century, the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the extension of the Hunnic influence to this region, two centuries of power instability are reported in historical sources. This is also reflected in changes in settlement structure and burial tradition, but it is questionable whether the changes from the Sarmatian period were mostly cultural or involved a significant change in genetic structure.
In particular, during both the 5th and 6th century, the ethnonym “Gepid” appears for the first time to describe one of the populations in this region. This term was used to identify one of the “Germanic” peoples that allied with Attila during the Hunnic empire in Europe, but also to denote the kingdom at the Eastern part of the Carpathian Basin that played an important role between the centuries, appearing in both the history of the Eastern Roman Empire and of the Langobards Kingdom in the Eastern part of the Carpathian Basin.
A comprehensive analysis of these transition periods through a deep sampling of entire cemeteries in the frame of the HistoGenes project is presented, combining genome-wide analyses of more than 500 individuals with isotopic and archaeological analysis of the sites.
Multiple lines of evidence point at an increase in short- and long-scale mobility, emerging also from an increase in genetic diversity, highlighting a compound scenario of continuity and discontinuity.
Thanks to the sampling strategy, these observations emerge both as overall patterns and single stories of burials and cemeteries, narrowing the distance between large-scale and small-scale events in the history of this region.
https://submissions.e-a-a.org/eaa2024/re...tract=4379
When are these studies coming out ?