The role of emerging elites in the formation and development of communities after the fall of the Roman Empire

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Tian, Yijie; Koncz, Istvan; Defant, Sarah; Giostra, Caterina; Vyas, Deven N.; Soltysiak, Arkadiusz; Baricco, Luisella Pejrani; Fetner, Rafal; Posth, Cosimo; Brandt, Guido; Bedini, Elena; Modi, Alessandra; Lari, Martina; Vai, Stefania; Francalacci, Paolo; Fernandes, Ricardo; Steinhof, Axel; Pohl, Walter; Caramelli, David; Krause, Johannes; Izdebski, Adam; Geary, Patrick J.; Veeramah, Krishna R.
• 署名单位: State University of New York (SUNY) System; Stony Brook University; Eotvos Lorand University; Free University of Berlin; Max Planck Society; Free University of Berlin; Catholic University of the Sacred Heart; University of Warsaw; Eberhard Karls University of Tubingen; Max Planck Society; University of Florence; University of Cagliari; Masaryk University; Princeton University; Max Planck Society; Austrian Academy of Sciences; University of Vienna; Jagiellonian University; Institute for Advanced Study - USA
• 刊物名称: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0027-13669
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2317868121
• 发表日期: 2024-09-03
• 关键词: collagen extraction; ancient; population; admixture; strontium; patterns; HISTORY; genomes; sample; bone

摘要

Elites played a pivotal role in the formation of post- Roman Europe on both macro- and microlevels during the Early Medieval period. History and archaeology have long focused on their description and identification based on written sources or through their archaeological record. We provide a different perspective on this topic by integrating paleogenomic, archaeological, and isotopic data to gain insights into the role of one such elite group in a Langobard period community near Collegno, Italy dated to the 6- 8th centuries CE. Our analysis of 28 newly sequenced genomes together with 24 previously published ones combined with isotope (Sr, C, N) measurements revealed that this community was established by and organized around a network of biologically and socially related individuals likely composed of multiple elite families that over time developed into a single extended pedigree. The community also included individuals with diverse genetic ancestries, maintaining its diversity by integrating newcomers and groups in later stages of its existence. This study highlights how shifts in political power and migration impacted the formation and development of a small rural community within a key region of the former Western Roman Empire after its dissolution and the emergence of a new kingdom. Furthermore, it suggests that Early Medieval elites had the capacity to incorporate individuals from varied backgrounds and that these elites were the result of (political) agency rather than belonging to biologically homogeneous groups.