Genetic Genealogy & Ancient DNA (DISCUSSION ONLY)

[Dewsloth]

A genomic history of the North Pontic Region from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age

Abstract

The north Black Sea (Pontic) Region was the nexus of the farmers of Old Europe and the foragers and pastoralists of the Eurasian steppe, and the source of waves of migrants that expanded deep into Europe. We report genome-wide data from 78 prehistoric North Pontic individuals to understand the genetic makeup of the people involved in these migrations and discover the reasons for their success. First, we show that native North Pontic foragers had ancestry not only from Balkan and Eastern hunter-gatherers but also from European farmers and, occasionally, Caucasus hunter-gatherers. More dramatic inflows ensued during the Eneolithic, when migrants from the Caucasus-Lower Volga area moved westward, bypassing the local foragers to mix with Trypillian farmers advancing eastward. People of the Usatove archaeological group in the Northwest Pontic were formed ca. 4500 BCE with an equal measure of ancestry from the two expanding groups. A different Caucasus-Lower Volga group, moving westward in a distinct but temporally overlapping wave, avoided the farmers altogether, and blended with the foragers instead to form the people of the Serednii Stih archaeological complex. A third wave of expansion occurred when Yamna descendants of the Serednii Stih forming ca. 4000 BCE expanded during the Early Bronze Age (3300 BCE). The temporal gap between Serednii Stih and the Yamna expansion is bridged by a genetically Yamna individual from Mykhailivka in Ukraine (3635-3383 BCE), a site of uninterrupted archaeological continuity across the Eneolithic-Bronze Age transition, and the likely epicenter of Yamna formation. Each of these three waves propagated distinctive ancestries while also incorporating outsiders during its advance, a flexible strategy forged in the North Pontic region that may explain its peoples' outsized success in spreading their genes and culture across Eurasia.

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/...89600v1?ct

It makes sense they would post the paper before the talk next week. There's a good chance the second part of this study (with the Yamnaya samples) will also appear in the next 7 days. Fingers crossed!

I see bad interpreted paternal haplogroup in supplement PDF i.e. Yas24/40 is dated circa 5,000 BCE and ISOGG prediction is R1b1a1b1a1a2c1a3a2 a R-L21 subclade from Bronze Age

This one, right?

Yasynuvatka
Vilnianskyi District, Zaporizhzhia Region (48.12, 35.09)
Yasynuvatka is one of the Mariupol-type cemeteries of extended burials in the Dnipro
Valley. Yasynuvatka was discovered by A. B. Borodyansky and excavated by D. Ya. Telegin in
1978. The cemetery contained 68 burials. The earliest phase at the cemetery is represented by
type A oval pits containing one to six skeletons. Multiple burials in the A-type pits were often on
top of one another. Subsequent burials at the cemetery were placed in one large pit Б, 5.2 ×
5.6m, the bottom of which was covered in red pigment.
V. N. Danilenko attributed Mariupol-type cemeteries to the Azov-Dnipro archaeological
group. D. Y. Telegin considered these cemeteries to belong to several groups of the DniproDonets archaeological complex (DDAC), extending from the Neolithic to the early Eneolithic.
The latter included the late DDAC phase with Zasukha-type ceramics, synchronous with the
early phase of Serednii Stih, represented by the Oleksandriya settlement and cemetery on the
Oskil River 3.
Yasynuvatka cemetery, pit Б. Image from 3.
I27983
Burial 24, male (30-40), 5700-5100 BCE
A male (30-40) burial in the red fill of Pit Б, extended supine, head to the NE (Б-1 type burial). Arms were slightly bent at elbows,
wrists on the pelvis.

[Qrts]

Some interesting accepted abstracts from EAA2024... (some titles aren't complete)

Unveiling the Social and Genetic Landscapes of the Avar Period Southern-Transdanubia: A M[...]

Social Belonging and Relatedness at the Rise of the Greek City-State: Genetic Exploration of [...]

An archaeogenetic study of the rise of the Maritime Republic of Noli, Italy

Herculaneum, 79 CE: Archaeogenetic insights into Roman society from a catastrophic [...]

Contrasting genetic impacts of eastern migrants on Early Iron Age communities in Hungary [...]

New insights in the population dynamics of the Italic Iron Age: archaeogenetic analysis of [...]

Genetic makeup and change in the mediaeval communities of the Carpathian Basin

Archaeogenetic Insights into the Ancient City of Blanda: A Millennia-Long Perspective from [...]

Bioarchaeological Perspectives on Late Antiquity in Dalmatia: Paleogenetic, Dietary, and [...]

Archaeogenetics in the Traisen Valley: Mobility and Social Structure during the Iron Age in [...]

[Kale]

Or if you are like me and consider your aDNA to be like a fine wine, getting better with age... we only get one 2 potential items of interest.

Integrating Paleometagenomic data with Archaeological Evidence to Study Population Dyna...

(hoping it provides new data, not an analysis of available samples)

Early Upper Paleolithic genomes of Crimea show migration and admixture dynamics of the f...

This is Buran-Kaya

[pelop]

I had copy-pasted and taken some screenshots before they closed off online access to the EAA abstracts:

Title: Herculaneum, 79 CE: Archaeogenetic insights into Roman society from a catastrophic death assemblage

Content: The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE captured a unique snapshot of Roman Imperial society, burying nearby settlements along with their architecture, writing, art, household objects and thousands of lives lost in the catastrophe. Our genetic study focused on the remains of 94 of the volcano’s victims excavated at Herculaneum, 80 of whom perished in the boat chambers on the shore while awaiting rescue—a group that encapsulates a frozen cross-section of Roman society.
We identified 13 families through genetic relationships, predominantly consisting of mothers and their young children, but also adult men and their elderly parents. The group displayed remarkable genetic heterogeneity, even within families, with ancestral roots extending across the Central and Eastern Mediterranean, Central Europe, and North Africa, and indications of immediate Levantine origins for some. This finding underscores the diversity and mobility within the Roman Empire, also described for the population of the city of Rome—a phenomenon intricately woven into territorial expansion, trade, slavery, and cultural exchange.
By integrating the genetic insights with a comprehensive reassessment of the archaeological and anthropological evidence we examine the individuals’ demographics, pathologies, and personal items associated with their socio-economic status to illuminate the diverse background of Herculaneum's inhabitants, unraveling their identities, social roles and behaviors amidst the catastrophic eruption.

Title: Genetic ancestry and kinship practices in Middle Bronze Age Calabria

Content: Located at the center of the Mediterranean Basin, at the “tip” of the Italian boot, the territory of present-day Calabria is characterized by a richness in natural resources and an extremely inhomogeneous landscape. Its strategic position as a bridge to Sicily and its wealth in minerals spurred several waves of migrations and colonization of the region since the Early Neolithic up to the modern era, both on coastal and inner mountain areas. Moreover, coastal sites experienced millennia of maritime contacts. While more recent events, such as the Hellenic colonization, are well documented on the archaeological record, the demography of prehistoric native populations remains a topic of debate, mostly due to chronological discordance of the findings and a general lack of integrated archaeological research. As such, nearly no genetic information exists today for ancient Calabrian populations. Here, we present genome-wide data for 13 ancient humans found buried in the Middle Bronze Age cave site of Grotta della Monaca. Supported by archaeological evidence, we use paleogenomic data to decipher funerary customs, social organization, family ties, and gender-related burial practices of a Proto-Apennine community dated 1700-1380 cal BCE. We also contextualize the biogeographical origin and ancestry of prehistoric people of Calabria within the broad landscape of existing data from Mediterranean populations. We investigate the persistence of distinct genomic components, such as Near Eastern-related ancestry, for which we provide the earliest appearance in mainland southern Italy. We also highlight the first evidence for prehistoric Italy of close-kin incestuous mating, which we address in light of the existing archaeological, anthropological, sociological and historical knowledge.

Title: The Tombs of the Cosmopolitan Late Bronze Age City of Hala Sultan Tekke, Cyprus

Content: This presentation deals with the results from the past years excavations in the cemetery of the cosmopolitan Late Bronze Age city of Hala Sultan Tekke, Cyprus, which flourished c. 1630–1150 BCE. The aim of the current project is the study of the complex burial practices and the tombs’ diachronic use. The tombs, most often chamber tombs, were used over generations and provide an excellent complement to the sequence of occupation in the city. The tombs’ contexts demonstrate, inter alia, moving and arranging human remains, and provide evidence of feasting in honour of the deceased, as well inside as outside the tombs. The aDNA results of a recent pilot study supported by the nature of the mortuary gifts and personal belongings confirm the multicultural character of the people of Hala Sultan Tekke. The material remains corroborate far-reaching trade, further underlining the role of the city as a trading center in the Mediterranean economic system. Connections, either direct or via middlemen, are confirmed with societies of the Mycenaean, Minoan, Hittite, Levantine, and Egyptian spheres of culture as well with regions as far away as Sardinia, the Baltic Sea, Mesopotamia, Afghanistan, and India.

Title: Archaeogenetic investigations reconstruct mobility of central European populations represented by the Rhineland region during the Migration Period

Content: The political and sociocultural changes during the Migration Period and the Early Middle Ages in Europe have been the focus of investigations in cultural sciences for many decades. However, even though historical and archaeological sources can provide insights into cultural processes, reconstructing individual mobility and group-based migration is still challenging. For a few years now, archaeogenetic studies have started contributing to detangle the complex dynamics present during this time and especially tackling questions of mobility and migration. Here, we study genetic data from 122 individuals from the Rhineland region in northwestern Germany close to Cologne. By employing high resolution genetic datasets of both modern and ancient DNA as well as new computational methods and visualization techniques, we gain new insights with respect to mobility and migration. Generally, we find patterns of individual-level mobility to be highly dependent on the temporal and archaeological context. Specifically, we observe individuals with ancestry from South-Eastern Europe, which could indicate movements of people in association with the political changes accompanying the collapse of the Roman Empire. Furthermore these connections seem to be temporally asynchronous between sites, potentially corresponding to different political structures within sites. The study promises new insights into the transformation process of the late Roman province of Germania II into the Early Medieval Francia rhinensis.

[Rozenfeld]

Ah, at last, ancient DNA from Classical Greece.

[Radko]

Some interesting accepted abstracts from EAA2024... (some titles aren't complete)

Unveiling the Social and Genetic Landscapes of the Avar Period Southern-Transdanubia: A M[...]

Social Belonging and Relatedness at the Rise of the Greek City-State: Genetic Exploration of [...]

An archaeogenetic study of the rise of the Maritime Republic of Noli, Italy

Herculaneum, 79 CE: Archaeogenetic insights into Roman society from a catastrophic [...]

Contrasting genetic impacts of eastern migrants on Early Iron Age communities in Hungary [...]

New insights in the population dynamics of the Italic Iron Age: archaeogenetic analysis of [...]

Genetic makeup and change in the mediaeval communities of the Carpathian Basin

Archaeogenetic Insights into the Ancient City of Blanda: A Millennia-Long Perspective from [...]

Bioarchaeological Perspectives on Late Antiquity in Dalmatia: Paleogenetic, Dietary, and [...]

Archaeogenetics in the Traisen Valley: Mobility and Social Structure during the Iron Age in [...]

UNVEILING THE SOCIAL AND GENETIC LANDSCAPES OF THE AVAR PERIOD SOUTHERN-TRANSDANUBIA: A MULTIDISCIPLINARY STUDY OF THE KöLKED-FEKETEKAPU CEMETERY

Balázs Gyuris1,2, Zsuzsanna Hajnal3, Tamás Szeniczey4, Kristóf Jakab1, István Koncz5, Balázs Mende1, Johannes Krause6, Zsófia Rácz5, Tivadar Vida5, Anna Szécsényi-Nagy1

1 Institute of Archaeogenomics, HUN-REN Research Centre for the Humanities, Budapest,
Hungary
2 Department of Genetics, ELTE-Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest
3 Hungarian National Museum
4 ELTE Department of Biological Anthropology, ELTE-Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest
5 Institute of Archaeological Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest
6 Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany

The Kölked-Feketekapu cemetery, with its more than 1300 graves, stands as one of the most significant burial sites from the Avar Period in the Carpathian Basin. This archaeological site encompasses a variety of grave groups, ranging from large cemeteries to smaller, household related burials. Used between the mid 6th and late 8th centuries AD, the site shows various cultural influences, reflecting the dynamic historical milieu of the Early Medieval period. The presence of Late Antique, Merovingian, and Eastern nomadic cultural elements underscores the site's importance and prompts a reevaluation of social structures within this diverse context. Wide-scale ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis offers unprecedented opportunity to investigate the relationship between social and biological kinship through the examination of large pedigrees and the identification of more distant genetic relations via IBD (identity by descent) sharing analysis. In pursuit of these insights, approximately 350 human DNA samples have been sequenced from Kölked, targeting 1.2 million polymorphic sites. Our multidisciplinary research aims to resolve questions around the founding of the site and the impact of the later newcomers on the life of the community. By exploring the connections among different sections of the cemetery, we intend to unveil the complex nature of interactions among individuals of varying cultural and biological backgrounds. This investigation into the cemetery's social and kinship dynamics not only shed light on the local social structure but also contributes to a broader understanding of the historical transformations within the wider period and region.

SOCIAL BELONGING AND RELATEDNESS AT THE RISE OF THE GREEK CITY-STATE: GENETIC EXPLORATION OF AREA 3 FROM THE HALIEIS NECROPOLIS ANTHI TILIAKOU

1,2, Johanna Fabricius3, Jenny Schlehofer4, Alksestis Papadimitriou5, Aggeliki Kossiva5, Raffaela Bianco1,2, Johannes Krause1,2, Philipp Stockhammer1,2,6, Alissa Mittnik1,2

1 Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology,
Leipzig, Germany
2 Max Planck-Harvard Research Centre for the Archaeoscience of the Ancient Mediterranean (MHAAM), Leipzig, Germany
3 Institut für Klassische Archäologie, Freie Universität Berlin
4 Niedersächsisches Landesmuseum Hannover
5 Ephorate of Antiquities of Argolida, Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports, Greece
6 Institute for Pre- and Protohistoric Archaeology and Archaeology of the Roman Provinces, Ludwig-Maximilian-University Munich

Whereas “kinship” or “family” have long been understood as biologically determined institutions, recent research has shown that these concepts are highly dynamic and vary greatly depending upon cultural contexts with both biological and social aspects being crucial for their understanding. When it comes to the Archaic-Classical Greek communities (ca. 800-490/490-323 BCE), scholars seem to mostly examine kinship ties through a prism that connects the formation of identities to the emergence of the polis and an increasingly structured social context, with its focal point being the “oikos” (i.e., household). Topics of discussion that arose from archaeological research were for example the place of the child within the community after death, the connection of status to the mode of burial treatment, and the post-marital burial place of women within a community. The majority of research weighs upon the Athenian model – or its comparison to the Spartan - for which more written information is available. In the current study we explore the genetic relatedness within a group of burials from a part of the Halieis necropoleis, situated in the rural landscape of the Greek Argolid. Taking under consideration the good level of preservation and documentation, Area 3 was selected containing 28 graves with 30 burials from which 25 individuals were sampled for ancient DNA analysis. Our questions address whether genetic ancestry and biological kinship might have weighed upon the formation of individual/group identities, marital ties and consanguineous relationships, and how these might be reflected in the spatial organization of the burial grounds and the preference of certain burial practices over others.

AN ARCHAEOGENETIC STUDY OF THE RISE OF THE MARITIME REPUBLIC OF NOLI, ITALY

Hannah Moots1, Imani Gordon2, Claire L. Gold3, Constanza Fuente2, Esha Bandyopadhyay2, Emily Koch4, David Witonsky2, Natividad Lupiáñez-Corpa2, Maanasa Raghavan2, Brigitte Holt3

1 Centre for Palaeogenetics
2 University of Chicago
3 University of Massachusetts Amherst
4 University of Michigan

In the 12th century CE, the small coastal Ligurian town of Noli grew into a maritime republic, with territorial holding and a trading network distributed across the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, and beyond. While steep mountains isolate Noli from many neighboring cities by land, its wide maritime trade network and sailing prowess meant that it was highly interconnected with other communities by sea. As competition with other Italian city-states grew, Noli allied itself with the Republic of Genoa, sharing military support and mutually increasing their overseas connections. In this study, we sequenced and studied archaeogenomic data from 23 inhabitiants of medieval Noli, spanning the 10th - 13th centuries, to better understand the rise of this maritime republic. We find that the population is genetically highly diverse, reflecting the far-reaching networks of the allied republics, which included territories on nearby Corsica and Sardinia, as well as further away in North Africa, the Aegean, and the Black Sea. We examine patterns in biological relatedness across the site and investigate genomic evidence for infectious diseases impacting this population. We present an archaeogenomic glimpse into the population of this maritime republic and contextualize our findings within the rich historical and archaeological documentation of medieval Italy.

HERCULANEUM, 79 CE: ARCHAEOGENETIC INSIGHTS INTO ROMAN SOCIETY FROM A CATASTROPHIC DEATH ASSEMBLAGE

Pier Paolo Petrone1, Alissa Mittnik2,3,4, Johannes Krause2, David Reich2,3,4,5,6

1 Department of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, Unit of forensic Medicine, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
2 Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
3 Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge (MA), USA
4 Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston (MA), USA
5 Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
6 Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE captured a unique snapshot of Roman Imperial society, burying nearby settlements along with their architecture, writing, art, household objects and thousands of lives lost in the catastrophe. Our genetic study focused on the remains of 94 of the volcano’s victims excavated at Herculaneum, 80 of whom perished in the boat chambers on the shore while awaiting rescue—a group that encapsulates a frozen cross-section of Roman society. We identified 13 families through genetic relationships, predominantly consisting of mothers and their young children, but also adult men and their elderly parents. The group displayed remarkable genetic heterogeneity, even within families, with ancestral roots extending across the Central and Eastern Mediterranean, Central Europe, and North Africa, and indications of immediate Levantine origins for some. This finding underscores the diversity and mobility within the Roman Empire, also described for the population of the city of Rome—a phenomenon intricately woven into territorial expansion, trade, slavery, and cultural exchange. By integrating the genetic insights with a comprehensive reassessment of the archaeological and anthropological evidence we examine the individuals’ demographics, pathologies, and personal items associated with their socio-economic status to illuminate the diverse background of Herculaneum's inhabitants, unraveling their identities, social roles and behaviors amidst the catastrophic eruption.

CONTRASTING GENETIC IMPACTS OF EASTERN MIGRANTS ON EARLY IRON AGE COMMUNITIES IN HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA

Luka Papac1, Mariana Egri2, Angela Mötsch1, Thiseas Lamnidis1, Szilárd Gál3, Aurel Rustoiu2, Stephan Schiffels1

1 Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
2 Institute of Archaeology and Art History, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
3 Mureş County Museum, Târgu Mureş, Romania.

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.

NEW INSIGHTS IN THE POPULATION DYNAMICS OF THE ITALIC IRON AGE: ARCHAEOGENETIC ANALYSIS OF THE MIDDLE-ADRIATIC CULTURES.

Francesco Ravasini1, Anu Solnik2, Chiara Delpino3, Stefano Finocchi4, Pierluigi Giroldini5, Christiana Scheib6, Kristiina Tambets2, Fulvio Cruciani1,7, Eugenia D'Atanasio7, Beniamino Trombetta1

1 Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
2 University of Tartu, Estonia
3 Superintendence Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the Provinces of Frosinone, Latina and Rieti, Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Italy
4 Superintendence Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape of the Marche Region, Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Italy
5 Superintendence Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the metropolitan city of
Florence and the provinces of Pistoia and Prato, Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Italy
6 Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge and St John’s College, University of Cambridge, UK
7 Institute of Molecular Biology and Pathology (IBPM), CNR, Italy

The Italic Iron Age (approximately 10th-3rd century BCE) was characterized by a mosaic of different cultural groups, thoroughly characterized by an archaeological perspective. While some of these ethnicities have been partially investigated from a genomic point of view (providing new insights into population dynamics) a comprehensive genetic portrait remains elusive, particularly for those populations residing along the mid-Adriatic coast. To better understand the evolution and history of Iron Age Italic populations, we focused our attention on the Picenes, a civilization that flourished along the Adriatic coasts of Central Italy from the 9th to the 3rd century BCE, until Roman colonization. The Picenes were composed of many local groups not necessarily related from a genetic perspective. We analyzed the genome of 81 ancient individuals buried in three different Iron Age necropolises located in Central Italy, two associated to the Picene culture (Novilara and Sirolo-Numana, 8th-5th century BCE) and one Etruscan necropolis (Monteriggioni/Colle di Val D’Elsa, 8th-6th century BCE). Our investigation unveiled genetic homogeneity not only among the two Picene sites, indicating extensive gene flow, but also between the Picenes and other contemporary populations, pointing to a common genetic origin of the Italic Iron Age ethnic groups. Despite this homogeneity, relevant genetic distinctions emerged between coeval Adriatic and Tyrrhenian populations, pointing to genetic contacts between the Adriatic coast of Italy and the Balkans and/or Northern Europe. Furthermore, the identification of genetic outliers (indicating foreign ancestries) within the cultures here analyzed suggests that the Italic Iron Age was characterized by a multicultural society where individuals with diverse genetic origins from across Europe coexisted.

GENETIC MAKEUP AND CHANGE IN THE MEDIAEVAL COMMUNITIES OF THE CARPATHIAN BASIN

Bea Szeifert1, Dániel Gerber1, Veronika Csáky1, Balázs Gyuris1,2, Kristóf Jakab1, Béla Szőke3, Balázs Mende1, Vitalij Sinika4, Attila Türk5,6, Anna Szécsényi-Nagy1

1 Institute of Archaeogenomics, HUN-REN Research Centre for the Humanities, Budapest, Hungary
2 Doctoral School of Biology, Institute of Biology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University,
Budapest, Hungary
3 Institute of Archaeology, HUN-REN Research Centre for the Humanities, Budapest, Hungary
4 Pridnestrovian State University named after T. G. Shevchenko, Tiraspol, Moldova
5 Institute of Archaeological Sciences, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences,
Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Budapest, Hungary
6 Hungarian Prehistory Researchgroup, HUN-REN Research Centre for the Humanities,
Budapest, Hungary

Despite its eventful history, Transdanubia in the Carpathian Basin (CB) has been underrepresented in mediaeval genetic research. The analysis of the region’s communities is important to describe the area’s population structure prior to the arrival of the Hungarians and to understand their genetic and cultural impacts during the 10-11th centuries AD. Moreover, the delineation of the Hungarian conquerors’ diverse origins and population structure is still to be achieved. Here we present whole genome level data for 103 individuals (6-11th c. AD) from today’s Western Hungary for general description of population events in the area in the studied period, supplemented with 50 individuals connected to the Hungarian conquerors from the CB and the so-called Etelköz region in the Dniester Valley (present-day Ukraine and Moldova). The latter is believed to be the early Hungarians’ last settlement area before their arrival into the CB. In addition to standard population genomic methods we applied IBD analysis as well to reveal possible distant biological relatedness within our dataset throughout the studied period and region. Radiocarbon dating was employed to enhance the classification of poorly documented but valuable graves. Our results delineate the CB’s general population structure and its changes in the Middle Ages. We show the reorganisation processes predominantly associated with the 10th century Hungarian conquest period, as well as the dynamics of spread and admixture of Hungarian conquerors-related ancestry. We reveal significant links between the communities in the CB and Etelköz as well as the Ural region. The population makeup in Etelköz is a mixture of various distant and local elements, which is consistent with the assumed melting process taking place in this area of the early Hungarians’ migration. Our results contribute to our understanding of the Carpathian Basin’s genetic history and the role of the populations of the Etelköz region in its context.

ARCHAEOGENETIC INSIGHTS INTO THE ANCIENT CITY OF BLANDA: A MILLENNIA-LONG PERSPECTIVE FROM THE NECROPOLIS OF TORTORA (CS, CALABRIA, ITALY)

Fabrizio Mollo1, Mariangela Barbato2, Afredo Coppa3,4,5, Francesco La Pastina3, Michaela Lucci3, Swapan Mallick5,6, Alessandra Sperduti7,8, Ron Pinhasi4, David Reich5,6, Alissa Mittnik9,5,6

1 University of Messina
2 Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the province of Cosenza, Italy
3 Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
4 Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Austria
5 Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston (MA), USA
6 Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge (MA), USA
7 Servizio di Bioarcheologia, Museo delle Civiltà, Italian Ministry of Culture, Rome, Italy
8 Università degli Studi “L’Orientale” di Napoli, Naples, Italy
9 Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany

The necropolis of Tortora comprises two main burial nuclei: the first dating to the Archaic and Pre-Roman period, features two culturally distinct chronological periods, the older Oenotrian (6th and 5th century BCE) and later Lucanian phase (4th century BCE). The second pertains to the Early Medieval period (7th to 9th century CE). In our ongoing archaeogenetic study, genome-wide data from 44 individuals across all phases, reveal five pedigrees, two from the Oenotrian, two from the Lucanian, and one from the Early Medieval phase. Population genetic analyses delineate two main genetic clusters aligning with the cultural and chronological groups. Most individuals from the 6th to 4th century BCE genetically resemble contemporaneous populations from Lazio and Etruria, while the Early Medieval individuals are shifted more toward Aegean and Near Eastern populations. Notable, genetic outliers from the first period suggest potential Greek gene flow or incorporation of Greeks into the local Oenotrian population. A series of absolute dates largely confirms the archaeological chronology, albeit with low resolution for the earlier phases due to the Hallstatt Plateau. Unexpectedly, two individuals from Tomb 61 were dated to the Roman Imperial period, a phase during which there is no archaeological documentation of the use of the necropolis. This Lucanian tomb had been violated in ancient times; it was devoid of grave goods, but the structure (chamber tomb of large blocks of limestone with red-coloured walls) signifies very high rank. These individuals are also outliers in terms of their genetics: the adult male (2nd-4th century CE) shares genetic affinity with ancient Eastern Baltic populations, while the adult female (1st century BCE-2nd century CE), clusters with contemporaneous population of Rome. This research illuminates the population and social dynamics of the city of Blanda, spanning over a millennium and offering nuanced insights into the use of its necropolis.

BIOARCHAEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON LATE ANTIQUITY IN DALMATIA: PALEOGENETIC, DIETARY, AND POPULATION STUDIES OF THE HVAR RADOšEVIć BURIAL SITE

Brina Zagorc1,2, Magdalena Blanz2,3, Pere Gelabert1,2, Susanna Sawyer1,2, Mario Carić4, Eduard Visković5, Maria Ivanova-Bieg6, Mario Novak4, David Reich7,8,9, Ron Pinhasi1,2

1 Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Austria
2 Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences (HEAS), University of Vienna, Austria
3 Vienna Institute of Archaeological Sciences (VIAS), University of Vienna, Austria
4 Centre for Applied Bioanthropology, Institute for Anthropological Research, Ljudevita Gaja 32, 1000 Zagreb, Croatia
5 Kantharos, d.o.o.
6 Vor- und Frûhgeschichtliche Archäologie, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Mainz, Germany
7 Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
8 Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
9 Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA

This research investigates a Late Antique burial site on the Croatian Dalmatian island of Hvar, spanning from the 3rd to the 5th centuries. Using paleogenomics and stable isotope ratio analyses (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N), a total of 33 individuals buried at the site were examined. Among them, 18 were buried within a confined grave tomb, while the remaining individuals were buried in separate burials within the tomb's proximity. Utilising this interdisciplinary approach, our objective was to address questions regarding the ancestry, dietary habits, and population structure, aiming to gain insights into the lives of the inhabitants of this island during this historical period. Ancestral origins were assessed through the application of qpAdm, while genetic diversity was evaluated using Principal Component Analysis. Results indicated a diverse population, reflective of the genetic variability characteristic of the era. Genetic outliers were identified, suggesting affiliations with distinct regions of the Roman Empire, connected with the trade routes associated with the Late Antique port in ancient Hvar. Paleodietary analysis, involving bone collagen extraction from the ribs of 15 individuals, revealed a predominant consumption of C3 plants, with limited to potentially negligible intake of marine foods. Exploration of kinship and dietary patterns revealed no discernible distinctions between individuals buried within the tomb and those buried outside, indicative of an absence of differential burial practices based on social status. The outcomes of this investigation contribute not only to a better understanding of the specific community analysed in this paper but also enrich our broader understanding of the lives of individuals in Dalmatia during the Late Antiquity within the Roman Empire.

ARCHAEOGENETICS IN THE TRAISEN VALLEY: MOBILITY AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE DURING THE IRON AGE IN NORTHEAST AUSTRIA

Selina Carlhoff1, Angela Mötsch1, Peter Ramsl2, Thiseas Lamnidis1, Friederike Novotny3, Karin Wiltschke-Schrotta3, Stephan Schiffels1

1 Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
2 Department of Prehistoric and Historical Archaeology, University of Vienna
3 Department of Anthropology, Natural History Museum Vienna

Extending from Eastern France to the northern Balkans, the Early La Tène culture of the Central European Iron Age is associated with high levels of artistic crafts, as well as intensification of long-distance trade relationships with groups from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean. The Traisen valley in northeastern Austria is one of the core regions of the Early La Tène period, where proximity to important trade routes along the Danube and mountain valleys supported a high density of La Tène settlements and associated cemeteries. The archaeological assemblage has been studied extensively and provides excellent background for archaeogenetic case study of community structure within a Central European microregion and its cross-regional connections. We extracted ancient DNA from 235 individuals from seven sites within the Traisen river valley to understand connectivity from the local to continental scale. We determined close and distant genetic relationships within and between sites, including several groups of closely-related individuals buried in close proximity to each other and second-degree relationships spanning across different sites. We also characterised the genetic diversity of the ancient individuals, which includes individuals most closely related to northern as well as southern Europe. Finally, we combined genetic, isotope and archaeological information to assess long-distance mobility patterns and understand the role of the Traisen valley in the cross-European trade networks. This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement number 851511) and the Austrian Science Fund (P36086-G “CATA”).

[Radko]

Or if you are like me and consider your aDNA to be like a fine wine, getting better with age... we only get one 2 potential items of interest.

Integrating Paleometagenomic data with Archaeological Evidence to Study Population Dyna...

(hoping it provides new data, not an analysis of available samples)

Early Upper Paleolithic genomes of Crimea show migration and admixture dynamics of the f...

This is Buran-Kaya

INTEGRATING PALEOMETAGENOMIC DATA WITH ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE TO STUDY POPULATION DYNAMICS IN THE SOUTHERN ANDES DURING THE LATE INTERMEDIATE PERIOD

Nicolas Rascovan1, Pierre Luisi1, Gabriel Yaxal Ponce Soto1, Elizabeth Nelson1, Arve Lee Willingham Grijalba1, Maria Lopopolo1, Ramiro Barberena2,3

1 Institut Pasteur, Université de Paris Cité, CNRS UMR 2000, Microbial Paleogenomics Unit, F-75015 Paris, France
2 Laboratorio de Paleoecología Humana, Instituto Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Básicas (ICB), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina
3 Centro de Investigación, Innovación y Creación, Universidad Católica de Temuco, Chile

The archaeological record is highly fragmented, and all pieces of evidence must be considered and integrated to better understand the human past. Recent advances in the study of ancient biomolecules in archaeological human remains, and particularly ancient DNA and isotope data, have greatly contributed to this end. Ancient DNA studies have been mainly driven by the analysis of ancient human genomic data, but important contributions came also from genomes of ancient human pathogens and ancient oral microbiota data. However, to date these layers of information have been mostly studied separately and rarely jointly analyzed with archaeological data. In this work we aimed at bridging that gap by analyzing multiple paleometagenomic datasets to study populations from the southern Andes of Argentina and Chile (30–34º S) between 1200–1420 AD (Late Intermediate Period), a period characterized by prevalent migration preceding the Inka conquest. The diets and mobility patterns of the human populations in the area were assessed with N15, C13 and 87Sr/86Sr stable isotope analyses. These analyses revealed a complex pattern of population dynamics, with co-existing local and migrant populations with different dietary patterns. Metagenomics of dental calculus was employed to investigate the oral microbial diversity of both populations, using strain level resolution. Metagenomic analysis of petrous bones was utilized as a source of human genomic data to determine the identity and origins of migrant and local populations, while also serving as a proxy for the environmental microbial background in oral microbiome analyses. Finally, preliminary results from metagenomic analysis of ancient teeth suggest that migrant populations may have been affected by Tuberculosis, raising questions about the role of this disease in the context of these migrations. This work perfectly exemplifies the benefits of a synergic work between archaeologist and geneticists to get more profound understanding of the history of past populations.

EARLY UPPER PALEOLITHIC GENOMES OF CRIMEA SHOW MIGRATION AND ADMIXTURE DYNAMICS OF THE FIRST MODERN EUROPEAN ANCESTRIES

Eva-Maria Geigl1, Thierry Grange1

1 Université Paris-Cité, CNRS, Institut Jacques Monod

Populations migrated from the Middle East through the Caucasus since the beginning of the Pleistocene. Our analysis of the genomes of 37-36,000 year-old skeletal remains from Buran Kaya III in Crimea revealed that these individuals were among the earliest to migrate into Europe after a major climatic crisis, the Heinrich Event 4 and the Campanian Ignimbrite volcanic super-eruption around 40,000 years ago. Their genomes also contained traces of the genomes of the earliest sapiens populations living in Europe and associated with the Initial Upper Paleolithic. This demonstrated that the newer migrants did not simply replace the earlier inhabitants of Europe, but some intermixing between the groups did occur. The genomes of the individuals from Buran Kaya III further revealed strong genetic relationships with pre- and post-Glacial populations from the Caucasus in agreement with archaeological evidence pointing to extended social contacts from the Zagros to the Carpathian mountains. These results indicate that the arc north of the Black Sea saw back- and forth migrations for thousands of years. Moreover, they were genetically closely related to the more than 5,000 years younger individuals in central and south-western Europe associated with the Gravettian culture. The individuals from Buran Kaya III were thus among the predecessors of the Gravettian artists that thrived between 31,000-23,000 years ago suggesting the Black Sea region played a key role in the early peopling of Europe.
Bennett et al, 2023, Nature Ecology & Evolution, 7, 2160–2172

[Michalis Moriakos]

AN ARCHAEOGENETIC STUDY OF THE RISE OF THE MARITIME REPUBLIC OF NOLI, ITALY

Hannah Moots1, Imani Gordon2, Claire L. Gold3, Constanza Fuente2, Esha Bandyopadhyay2, Emily Koch4, David Witonsky2, Natividad Lupiáñez-Corpa2, Maanasa Raghavan2, Brigitte Holt3

1 Centre for Palaeogenetics
2 University of Chicago
3 University of Massachusetts Amherst
4 University of Michigan

In the 12th century CE, the small coastal Ligurian town of Noli grew into a maritime republic, with territorial holding and a trading network distributed across the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, and beyond. While steep mountains isolate Noli from many neighboring cities by land, its wide maritime trade network and sailing prowess meant that it was highly interconnected with other communities by sea. As competition with other Italian city-states grew, Noli allied itself with the Republic of Genoa, sharing military support and mutually increasing their overseas connections. In this study, we sequenced and studied archaeogenomic data from 23 inhabitiants of medieval Noli, spanning the 10th - 13th centuries, to better understand the rise of this maritime republic. We find that the population is genetically highly diverse, reflecting the far-reaching networks of the allied republics, which included territories on nearby Corsica and Sardinia, as well as further away in North Africa, the Aegean, and the Black Sea. We examine patterns in biological relatedness across the site and investigate genomic evidence for infectious diseases impacting this population. We present an archaeogenomic glimpse into the population of this maritime republic and contextualize our findings within the rich historical and archaeological documentation of medieval Italy.

You know what's funny about this study is that it means we're likely going to have more medieval Ligurians in the G25 than modern ones!

[Radko]

More videos: http://www.youtube.com/@instituteofarchaeogenomics2850

[Radko]

From upcoming Avar period Leobersdorf, Modling, etc. HistoGenes Wang et al. study - https://server.poseidon-adna.org/zip_fil...AvarPeriod

Global25 coordinates - https://drive.google.com/file/d/12wMC6OI...p=drivesdk

[Riverman]

More videos: http://www.youtube.com/@instituteofarchaeogenomics2850

At 7:20 of the third video a sample group being named SzFAvar, the first one, nearly fully E-V13, what does this site or time period refer to? Obviously Avar period, but anything more specific?

[FR9CZ6]

At 7:20 of the third video a sample group being named SzFAvar, the first one, nearly fully E-V13, what does this site or time period refer to? Obviously Avar period, but anything more specific?

Székesfehérvár and its surroundings, 6-9th century.

[dumuzi]

At 7:20 of the third video a sample group being named SzFAvar, the first one, nearly fully E-V13, what does this site or time period refer to? Obviously Avar period, but anything more specific?

Székesfehérvár and its surroundings, 6-9th century.

What is paty_c, paty_d?

[FR9CZ6]

What is paty_c, paty_d?

Two 10th century cemeteries near Páty, a town west of Budapest. These are all names of different locations, you can google them but they're also shown on a map in the beginning.

[FR9CZ6]

Just to summarize the videos for those who don't speak hungarian:

The second video is about their analysis of samples taken from archaic (from the High Middle Ages until the Early Modern Period) and present day inhabitants of Székely Land, Transylvania.
Their uniparental markers -as expected- are mostly of Western Eurasian origin, however both modern and ancient individuals carried haplogroups which are connected or even identical to haplogroups found in archaic Magyar related samples from the Carpathian Basin and the Ural region (Uyelgi, Bolshie Tigani). The whole genome analysis showed that the modern Székely people are genetically very similar to the medieval individuals from Székely Land. They also found that both groups fall into the same cluster as some medieval samples from Transdanubia and Alföld regions. When they were compared to the Hungarian population from the Váh Valley (Slovakia) and Drávaszög (Croatian Baranja), the Székely samples were somewhat shifted towards the Southeastern European groups. The IBD analysis showed that the modern and archaic Székely samples have strong links to the Transdanubian ones. They also shared IBD segments with the some Magyar-related samples from the Urals and the Carpathian Basin.
The results support the hypothesis that the ancestors of the Székely people arrived with the Magyar tribes and they're not some remnants of the Huns as some believe. It also supports the theory which says the Székely people were settled from Western Transdanubia to Transylvania in the middle ages to protect the eastern border of the Kingdom of Hungary.

In the third video the researcher presents some preliminary results of their analysis on the archaic samples (8-12th centuries) from Transdanubia. They focused on three important political centers of medieval Transdanubia: Zalavár, Székesfehérvár and Visegrád and they also tried to sample the whole population buried at Páty cemeteries C and D to reveal the social organization of its 10th century inhabitants. From the 10th century the presence of the Magyars had been detected. "Pure" or admixed individuals who are related to the Magyars were present in almost every analyzed sites, however they constituted a minority. From the 11-12th centuries the homogenization of the population took place, the number of individuals who have shown eastern genetic ancestry decreased. At the same time the IBD sharing between different regions increased. These events are likely linked to the population movements after the emergence of the Kingdom of Hungary. The local population adopted the hungarian language and catholicism which unified them, while the Conquering Magyars has been assimilated genetically to the local population. The medieval local population falls into 4 clusters. Cluster 2 is a population which shows northern european affinity, cluster 1 is coming from a more southern source and there are two intermediate clusters. They did not link cluster 1 and 2 to any populations but I would guess cluster 2 is consisting of slavic-like individuals with some germanic shifted samples while cluster 1 is more similar the Roman Era samples from Croatia and the Balkanic-like Avar Era samples from Alföld. I believe the range of these samples on a PCA would be the same as the range of the new Vienna Basin samples from Mödling, except that the sporadic genetically eastern individuals are on the Magyar cline instead of the Avar cline.