A genetic history of the Balkans from Roman frontier to Slavic migrations

[Riverman]

A genetic history of the Balkans from Roman frontier to Slavic migrations
Highlights
• A frontier region of ancient Rome was as cosmopolitan as the imperial center
• Genetic proof that migrants identified as Goths were ethnically diverse confederations
• Slavic-speaking migrants account for 30%–60% of the ancestry of Balkan peoples today
• A model for integrating archaeology with genetics
Summary
The rise and fall of the Roman Empire was a socio-political process with enormous ramifications for human history. The Middle Danube was a crucial frontier and a crossroads for population and cultural movement. Here, we present genome-wide data from 136 Balkan individuals dated to the 1st millennium CE. Despite extensive militarization and cultural influence, we find little ancestry contribution from peoples of Italic descent. However, we trace a large-scale influx of people of Anatolian ancestry during the Imperial period. Between ∼250 and 550 CE, we detect migrants with ancestry from Central/Northern Europe and the Steppe, confirming that “barbarian” migrations were propelled by ethnically diverse confederations. Following the end of Roman control, we detect the large-scale arrival of individuals who were genetically similar to modern Eastern European Slavic-speaking populations, who contributed 30%–60% of the ancestry of Balkan people, representing one of the largest permanent demographic changes anywhere in Europe during the Migration Period.
https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092...23)01135-2

https://genarchivist.com/showthread.php?...12#pid5712

Many of the samples were discussed before, but probably not all and I wonder whether for some of them the autosomal data, G25 coordinates could be available and more downstream assignments for their yDNA haplogroup could be made?

There are, if I haven't missed something, about 17 E-L618/E-V13 samples alone.

From the paper:

Around half of the 45 individuals between ∼1 and 250 CE can be fitted with qpAdm models featuring only Balkan Iron Age groups (Figure 2A) and are characterized by a high frequency (5 out of 10) of Y chromosome lineage E-V13 (Data S1, section 2), which has been hypothesized to have experienced a Bronze-to-Iron Age expansion in the Balkans.
28
These individuals, sampled from Roman towns such as Viminacium, Tragurium (Trogir), and Mursa (Osijek), are consistent with being direct descendants of local Balkan Iron Age populations (Figure 2A), pointing to a high degree of integration of the local population into Roman society.

The Roman Empire did, however, stimulate demographic change in the Balkans. In this early period, ∼1/3 of the individuals (15 of the 45) fall beyond the Balkan clines in PCA (Figures 1C and S4) but close to Near Easterners and can be modeled as deriving their ancestry predominantly from Roman/Byzantine populations from western Anatolia and, in one case, from Northern Levantine groups (Figure 2A; Data S2, Table 6). Most of these individuals were excavated at four different Viminacium necropolises, but we also found them at other urban centers such as Tragurium (Trogir) and Iader (Zadar). A very strong demographic shift toward Anatolia is also evident in Rome and central Italy during the same period
15
,
25
and demonstrates long-distance mobility plausibly originating from the major eastern urban centers of the Empire such as Ephesus, Corinth, or Byzantium/Constantinople, and our results show that these migrants had a major demographic impact not only on the Imperial capital but also on other large towns on the Empire’s northern periphery.

Without cremation and urban centered sampling, the E-V13 dominance along the Danube would have been surely even way higher:

Like any historical evidence, this new genetic dataset has limitations. The main one concerns the inherent fragmentary nature of the archaeological record, impacting our study in three ways. First, the prevalence of cremation burial in the 1st and 2nd centuries limits the size of the sample in the earliest phase and may bias the results toward a local population more likely to be inhumed. Second, the paucity of sixth-century samples may obscure the presence of populations from Northern/Central Europe who arrived in this later period and the earliest phases of the Slavic migrations. Third, urban populations are overrepresented in our study with respect to rural areas, which could be differentially impacted by the demographic processes described in our work. Additional genetic analyses across other Roman frontiers during and after the height of the Empire will help understand how this ancient phase of globalization shaped the current demographic landscape of three continental regions.

https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092...23)01135-2

[Radko]

"At the fortified settlement of Brekinjova Kosa (Bojna, Croatia), two adult men dated to 770–890 cal CE were buried together in the same pit, the younger one (I26748) with healed skull trauma and with 97% Eastern European-related ancestry (...)"

Y-DNA: R-YP1337

[Riverman]

"At the fortified settlement of Brekinjova Kosa (Bojna, Croatia), two adult men dated to 770–890 cal CE were buried together in the same pit, the younger one (I26748) with healed skull trauma and with 97% Eastern European-related ancestry (...)"

Y-DNA: R-YP1337

That proves that fairly unmixed Slavs could come as far.

[Capsian20]

A genetic history of the Balkans from Roman frontier to Slavic migrations
Highlights
• A frontier region of ancient Rome was as cosmopolitan as the imperial center
• Genetic proof that migrants identified as Goths were ethnically diverse confederations
• Slavic-speaking migrants account for 30%–60% of the ancestry of Balkan peoples today
• A model for integrating archaeology with genetics
Summary
The rise and fall of the Roman Empire was a socio-political process with enormous ramifications for human history. The Middle Danube was a crucial frontier and a crossroads for population and cultural movement. Here, we present genome-wide data from 136 Balkan individuals dated to the 1st millennium CE. Despite extensive militarization and cultural influence, we find little ancestry contribution from peoples of Italic descent. However, we trace a large-scale influx of people of Anatolian ancestry during the Imperial period. Between ∼250 and 550 CE, we detect migrants with ancestry from Central/Northern Europe and the Steppe, confirming that “barbarian” migrations were propelled by ethnically diverse confederations. Following the end of Roman control, we detect the large-scale arrival of individuals who were genetically similar to modern Eastern European Slavic-speaking populations, who contributed 30%–60% of the ancestry of Balkan people, representing one of the largest permanent demographic changes anywhere in Europe during the Migration Period.
https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092...23)01135-2

https://genarchivist.com/showthread.php?...12#pid5712

Many of the samples were discussed before, but probably not all and I wonder whether for some of them the autosomal data, G25 coordinates could be available and more downstream assignments for their yDNA haplogroup could be made?

There are, if I haven't missed something, about 17 E-L618/E-V13 samples alone.

From the paper:

Around half of the 45 individuals between ∼1 and 250 CE can be fitted with qpAdm models featuring only Balkan Iron Age groups (Figure 2A) and are characterized by a high frequency (5 out of 10) of Y chromosome lineage E-V13 (Data S1, section 2), which has been hypothesized to have experienced a Bronze-to-Iron Age expansion in the Balkans.
28
These individuals, sampled from Roman towns such as Viminacium, Tragurium (Trogir), and Mursa (Osijek), are consistent with being direct descendants of local Balkan Iron Age populations (Figure 2A), pointing to a high degree of integration of the local population into Roman society.

The Roman Empire did, however, stimulate demographic change in the Balkans. In this early period, ∼1/3 of the individuals (15 of the 45) fall beyond the Balkan clines in PCA (Figures 1C and S4) but close to Near Easterners and can be modeled as deriving their ancestry predominantly from Roman/Byzantine populations from western Anatolia and, in one case, from Northern Levantine groups (Figure 2A; Data S2, Table 6). Most of these individuals were excavated at four different Viminacium necropolises, but we also found them at other urban centers such as Tragurium (Trogir) and Iader (Zadar). A very strong demographic shift toward Anatolia is also evident in Rome and central Italy during the same period
15
,
25
and demonstrates long-distance mobility plausibly originating from the major eastern urban centers of the Empire such as Ephesus, Corinth, or Byzantium/Constantinople, and our results show that these migrants had a major demographic impact not only on the Imperial capital but also on other large towns on the Empire’s northern periphery.

Without cremation and urban centered sampling, the E-V13 dominance along the Danube would have been surely even way higher:

Like any historical evidence, this new genetic dataset has limitations. The main one concerns the inherent fragmentary nature of the archaeological record, impacting our study in three ways. First, the prevalence of cremation burial in the 1st and 2nd centuries limits the size of the sample in the earliest phase and may bias the results toward a local population more likely to be inhumed. Second, the paucity of sixth-century samples may obscure the presence of populations from Northern/Central Europe who arrived in this later period and the earliest phases of the Slavic migrations. Third, urban populations are overrepresented in our study with respect to rural areas, which could be differentially impacted by the demographic processes described in our work. Additional genetic analyses across other Roman frontiers during and after the height of the Empire will help understand how this ancient phase of globalization shaped the current demographic landscape of three continental regions.

https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092...23)01135-2

Great , i hope file Autosomal there especially sample E-V32 and E-L791 and E-M123* ( Although i think maybe this both subclade L791 and M123 are ancient in Balkan posible back in period bronze age )

[Webb]

I found two DF99 samples, one DF27 sample which is down to L617, and one L21 sample down to DF13.

[corrigendum]

The first version was published as a pre-print in 2021 as Cosmopolitanism at the Roman Danubian Frontier, Slavic Migrations, and the Genomic Formation of Modern Balkan Peoples

The final version includes some differences in models, new samples and an analysis of already published samples from Stable population structure in Europe since the Iron Age, despite high mobility

Some notable samples:

I27297 from northwestern Serbia, 440-599 calCE carries E-PH1173 which is the Hunyadi family lineage. This is the oldest sample from this lineage.

G 14 (2) from Dalmatia (Croatia), 1-200 CE carries E-Y16729 , which has already been previously found in IA Croatia. 

G 31 from Dalmatia, 100-300 CE carries J-Y13128 , extensively found in the IA southern Balkans, in particular in the Aegean region, but also in the northern Balkans - including Croatia - in Neolithic samples.

G-402 from Viminacium (Serbia), 124-228 cal CE carries J-L70 . This is one of the oldest samples of J-L70 in Europe.

G 17 from Dalmatia, 100-400 CE carries R-BY250, which was recently found in LBA/EIA Albania.

Several samples in Croatia and Serbia carry J-Z1043, a lineage whose oldest sample so far has been found in Roman Montenegro.

[rmstevens2]

I found two DF99 samples, one DF27 sample which is down to L617, and one L21 sample down to DF13.

Naturally I am pretty interested that R1b-DF13, sample I26776. Unfortunately there's not a lot of detail. 

● Genetic Identifier: I26776. Grave Identifier: Poliklinika, 2013, grave 10. Grave type: no visible burial container, N-S orientation. Skeletal information: male, undetermined age. Grave goods: none. Dating: stratigraphy: 3rd -4th century. Additional information: a large number of rocks were piled on the top of the skeleton. This grave destroyed an older cremation burial. Ancestry summary: Balkans Iron Age-related.

[Pribislav]

I1116; 775-994 AD; Gomolava, Hrtkovci, Serbia; I2a1b-Y3120>S17250>Y5596>Z16971>Y5595>FT39645>Y12911>FT42350 (xFT43555,FT122179)

Y5596 level: Y5596/BY128+  A>C (9C)

Z16971 level: Y12910+  C>T (3T-1C)

Y5595 level: Y5595/Z16972+  G>T (1T)

FT39645 level: FT39645+  G>A (4A)

Y12911 level: Y12911/A2423+  C>T (3T)

FT42350 level: FT42350+  C>A (1A)

FT43555 level: FT43555-  G>C (1G)

FT122179 level: FT122179-  T>A (3T)

FT234871 level: *no calls*

[VladMC]

https://www.ebi.ac.uk/ena/browser/view/PRJEB66422

[ph2ter]

"At the fortified settlement of Brekinjova Kosa (Bojna, Croatia), two adult men dated to 770–890 cal CE were buried together in the same pit, the younger one (I26748) with healed skull trauma and with 97% Eastern European-related ancestry (...)"

Y-DNA: R-YP1337

R-YP1337 is R-M458.
At this site in continental Croatia near the town of Sisak (Roman Siscia) was found a person that was possibly a duke or some high dignitary with the same kind of archaeological finds like had been before found in Dalmatia.
But the bones of the supposed duke are very badly preserved.

[Radko]

Do we have G25 coordinates yet?

I12991 - Blatné, Senec district, Western Slovakia, 709-880 cal CE (1220±15 BP, PSUAMS-9770)

[1] "1. CLOSEST SINGLE ITEM DISTANCE%"
                Europe_UA_Chernihiv-Oblast
                                0.7577830
                    Europe_BY_Brest-Region
                                0.7848025
                        Europe_BY_Polesye
                                0.8332329
                  Europe_UA_Kharkiv-Oblast
                                0.8461271
                          Europe_BY_Minsk
                                0.8659590
                  Europe_UA_Poltava-Oblast
                                0.8700132
                      Europe_PL_Podlaskie
                                0.8701126
                Europe_LT_Lithuania-Alytus
                                0.8804902
                Europe_LT_Lithuania-Kaunas
                                0.8937505
                    Europe_UA_Sumy-Oblast
                                0.9081151
(...)

Distance to: I12991_simulated_G25
0.01403415 Belarusian
0.01428073 Russian_Smolensk
0.01705354 Ukrainian_Chernihiv
0.01724440 Lithuanian_PA
0.01866564 Ukrainian_Zhytomyr
0.01909501 Ukrainian_Sumy
0.01958754 Ukrainian_Rivne
0.01968767 Lithuanian_VA
0.02097922 Russian_Voronez
0.02284838 Russian_Orel
0.02302965 Polish
0.02323124 Russian_Belgorod
0.02339562 Ukrainian_Dnipro
0.02379891 Russian_Kaluga
0.02388339 Russian_Pskov
0.02415449 Polish_Kashubian
0.02441500 Lithuanian_RA
0.02468303 Russian_Kursk
0.02477294 Lithuanian_VZ
0.02620662 Cossack_Ukrainian
0.02816932 Sorb_Niederlausitz
0.03089792 Russian_Ryazan
0.03115003 Ukrainian_Lviv
0.03148183 Russian_Tver
0.03168554 Lithuanian_SZ

I12991_Blatné_Senec_district_709-880_cal_CE,0.13481592263000006,0.12771957065,0.0750538754026,0.06638116124999976,0.044717290763,0.02608198641698,0.009383289379999984,0.013281676560000103,-0.0011510939549999014,-0.022255752740000048,-0.0050849693307,-0.00996997071500003,0.01625099621500001,0.035133659035000334,-0.011189737250000019,-0.0007859917700000058,0.0020101151199999646,0.00002815055499994347,0.005789606389999975,0.0018747070230000057,-0.004453680024999918,-0.008572265570000032,0.007730215585000018,-0.0035780054849999803,0.001599623349999939

[Radko]

"At the fortified settlement of Brekinjova Kosa (Bojna, Croatia), two adult men dated to 770–890 cal CE were buried together in the same pit, the younger one (I26748) with healed skull trauma and with 97% Eastern European-related ancestry (...)"

Y-DNA: R-YP1337

Distance to: I26748_simulated_G25
0.01153438 Polish
0.01508240 Ukrainian_Rivne
0.01681335 Ukrainian_Sumy
0.01705347 Ukrainian_Zhytomyr
0.01736847 Ukrainian_Dnipro
0.01766036 Ukrainian_Lviv
0.01792329 Ukrainian_Chernihiv
0.01937062 Russian_Voronez
0.01965400 Russian_Belgorod
0.02000516 Russian_Orel
0.02081305 Cossack_Ukrainian
0.02130153 Russian_Smolensk
0.02204042 Russian_Kursk
0.02304767 Polish_Kashubian
0.02313946 Ukrainian_Zakarpattia
0.02338547 Polish_Silesian
0.02359841 Sorb_Niederlausitz
0.02427059 Slovakian
0.02445088 Czech
0.02463630 Moldovan_o
0.02486986 Belarusian
0.02504278 Russian_Ryazan
0.02584739 Russian_Kaluga
0.03007148 Russian_Tver
0.03101147 Russian_Pskov

I26748_Brekinjova_kosa_Croatia_773-890_cal_CE,0.12588903740100008,0.12464755513399998,0.06919304537600005,0.055437268504999734,0.038565528569,0.020486825217359995,0.00751601548500002,0.011647454835000246,0.0029963952610000746,-0.01661249838300017,-0.002680967294851999,-0.007355394719999957,0.010942007884000002,0.020967762876000624,-0.005947089942000045,0.00012321407900003824,0.0026457396929999155,-0.001406609430999987,0.0029378123689999926,0.0038779490649999975,-0.0016307720359998931,-0.0057934417530001135,0.0069550779859999644,-0.004580512405000019,0.002252217712999877

[vlrs]

There is a thin chance that this sample might be from my haplogroup but the study is suggesting E-m34 positivity:

                            I15502
G-105
tooth
This study
215-326 calCE (1800±20 BP, PSUAMS-13191)

15-25
Serbia_ViminaciumPirivoj
Viminacium, Pirivoj Necropolis
Serbia

M
404.1
U3a2a1

E-M123
E1b,E-Z830,E-PF1962,E-M123
E1b1b1b2a1

[ph2ter]

Simulated g25:

[Radko]

"We present evidence that Eastern European ancestry was sporadically present in the Balkans long before the Slavic migrations of late antiquity. Indeed, a woman who probably died in the 2nd or 3rd centuries CE and was buried at Više Grobalja presents unmixed Eastern European ancestry (Figure 4A), offering a remarkable illustration of how small-scale individual percolation into the dynamic economy of the Roman Empire may have preceded larger-scale migration. The vast majority of the individuals with Eastern European ancestry in our dataset appear in the 7th–10th centuries and are of admixed ancestry (Figure 4A)."

Distance to: I32305_simulated_G25
0.01411417 Belarusian
0.01571927 Russian_Smolensk
0.01579782 Russian_Kursk
0.01588506 Lithuanian_PA
0.01717536 Russian_Pskov
0.01742295 Ukrainian_Chernihiv
0.01783862 Ukrainian_Dnipro
0.01804139 Russian_Orel
0.01819144 Ukrainian_Rivne
0.01896235 Russian_Kaluga
0.01910374 Russian_Voronez
0.01978239 Russian_Tver
0.02038133 Ukrainian_Zhytomyr
0.02040682 Lithuanian_VA
0.02042510 Ukrainian_Sumy
0.02076698 Cossack_Ukrainian
0.02110744 Russian_Ryazan
0.02214097 Polish
0.02325058 Estonian
0.02362319 Russian_Belgorod
0.02391031 Polish_Kashubian
0.02501073 Russian_Yaroslavl
0.02579751 Lithuanian_RA
0.02593520 Lithuanian_VZ
0.03147201 Lithuanian_SZ

I32305_Serbia_ViminaciumViseGrobalja_25-203_cal_CE,0.13192370620600005,0.11807277523,0.07271642449440004,0.07244633633099971,0.0385084669238,0.028081082328639994,0.008487297628000046,0.01256789579400009,0.00003455686299997686,-0.023117463324999817,-0.00430162023584,-0.008658716696999988,0.015038933797000009,0.024719703495000314,-0.006007178257000167,0.0017491544310001862,0.0014232737759999536,-0.0003562679570000178,0.003938714339000001,0.0032768621330000005,-0.0020876071739999082,-0.005360170038000047,0.00694044985099999,-0.001951984784000011,0.0015801915299999154