Ancient DNA connects large-scale migration with the spread of Slavs

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Gretzinger, Joscha; Biermann, Felix; Mager, Hellen; King, Benedict; Zlamalova, Denisa; Traverso, Luca; Gnecchi Ruscone, Guido A.; Peltola, Sanni; Salmela, Elina; Neumann, Gunnar U.; Radzeviciute, Rita; Ingrova, Pavlina; Liwoch, Radoslaw; Wronka, Iwona; Juric, Radomir; Hyrchala, Anna; Niezabitowska-Wisniewska, Barbara; Bartecki, Bartlomiej; Borowska, Beata; Dzienkowski, Tomasz; Woloszyn, Marcin; Wojenka, Michal; Wilczynski, Jaroslaw; Kot, Malgorzata; Mueller, Eric; Orschiedt, Jorg; Zarina, Gunita; Onkamo, Paivi; Daim, Falko; Muhl, Arnold; Schwarz, Ralf; Majer, Marek; McCormick, Michael; Kvetina, Jan; Vida, Tivadar; Geary, Patrick J.; Machacek, Jiri; Slaus, Mario; Meller, Harald; Pohl, Walter; Hofmanova, Zuzana; Krause, Johannes
• 署名单位: Max Planck Society; University of Szczecin; Max Planck Society; Masaryk University; University of Turku; University of Helsinki; Jagiellonian University; Maria Curie-Sklodowska University; Maria Curie-Sklodowska University; University of Lodz; University of Rzeszow; Jagiellonian University; Polish Academy of Sciences; Institute of Systematics & Evolution of Animals of the Polish Academy of Sciences; University of Warsaw; Free University of Berlin; University of Latvia; University of Vienna; University of Lodz; Harvard University; Czech Academy of Sciences; Institute of History of the Czech Academy of Sciences; Eotvos Lorand University; Institute for Advanced Study - USA; Croatian Academy of Sciences & Arts; University of Vienna; Austrian Academy of Sciences
• 刊物名称: NATURE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0028-0836; 1476-4687
• DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09437-6
• 发表日期: 2025-10-09
• 关键词: sequence; admixture; IDENTITY; origin

摘要

The second half of the first millennium ce in Central and Eastern Europe was accompanied by fundamental cultural and political transformations. This period of change is commonly associated with the appearance of the Slavs, which is supported by textual evidence1,2 and coincides with the emergence of similar archaeological horizons3, 4, 5-6. However, so far there has been no consensus on whether this archaeological horizon spread by migration, Slavicisation or a combination of both. Genetic data remain sparse, especially owing to the widespread practice of cremation in the early phase of the Slavic settlement. Here we present genome-wide data from 555 ancient individuals, including 359 samples from Slavic contexts from as early as the seventh century ce. Our data demonstrate large-scale population movement from Eastern Europe during the sixth to eighth centuries, replacing more than 80% of the local gene pool in Eastern Germany, Poland and Croatia. Yet, we also show substantial regional heterogeneity as well as a lack of sex-biased admixture, indicating varying degrees of cultural assimilation of the autochthonous populations. Comparing archaeological and genetic evidence, we find that the change in ancestry in Eastern Germany coincided with a change in social organization, characterized by an intensification of inter- and intra-site genetic relatedness and patrilocality. On the European scale, it appears plausible that the changes in material culture and language between the sixth and eighth centuries were connected to these large-scale population movements.