Uncanny genetic proportions from Hungary suggest a long lasting Hunter-Gatherer ancestry in Central Europe at the Bronze Age, Gerber et al.

Uncanny genetic proportions from Hungary suggest a long lasting Hunter-Gatherer ancestry in Central Europe at the Bronze Age


Gerber Dániel (1, 2), Ari Eszter (2, 3), Szeifert Bea (1, 2), Kustár Ágnes, Fábián Szilvia (4), Bondár Mária (5), Kiss Viktória (5), Köhler Kitti (5), Mende Balázs Gusztáv (1), Szécsényi-Nagy Anna (1)

1 - Research Centre for the Humanities, Institute of Archaeogenomics, Eötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH), Budapest, Hungary (Hungary), 2 - Department of Genetics, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary (Hungary), 3 - Synthetic and Systems Biology Unit, Biological Research Centre, Eötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH BRC) (Hungary), 4 - Natural History Museum (Hungary), 5 - Research Centre for the Humanities, Institute of Archaeology, Eötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH), Budapest, Hungary (Hungary)

Bronze Age was a critical turning point in the formation of today's European populations when especially Central Europe became genetically really colourful. Recent large-scale studies tend to focus on the non-European connections and impacts of incoming populations, however, many factors that shaped the European genepool remains mostly uninvestigated. A number of neglected genetically outlier individuals left an anomalous proportion of Hunter-Gatherer (HG) heritage unrecognized in the post-Neolithic period. Rivollat et al. 2020 have already described elevated HG ancestry from Middle-Late Neolithic sites in present-day Germany, but without further uncovering its exact source and subsequent history. In our study communities of a single site, called Balatonkeresztúr in Western Hungary, from the Early-Middle Bronze age Kisapostag/Encrusted Pottery culture was genetically analysed for the first time, owing to their extensive cremation practices. The site provides further evidence of an increased, yet mosaically appearing HG component in Central Europe even at the Bronze Age, which likely originated in the region, as suggested by additional novel and published outlier samples. The hunt for the HG components' origin is presented in this talk, where yet barely used high coverage genomes were co-analysed and set to new directions by our dataset. We applied low coverage shotgun and genome-wide capture data of 20 individuals from the site, who belong to at least three distinct archaeological horizons. We were able to pinpoint rare genetic diseases, pigmentation, kinship, social organisation and population affinites of these people, thus providing the complex and multidisciplinary interpretation of these Bronze Age communities.

https://isba9.sciencesconf.org/data/pages/Abstract_Book_ISBA9_2022.pdf

 

https://twitter.com/GerberDniel2/status/1400010765445353475

Comments

ambron said…
Arza, do you see the possibility of getting more data from this presentation? The slide seems to have been intentionally cut off at the bottom. If it were whole, we would easily calculate the percentage of excess WHG of the inhabitants of the Bronze Age Carpathian basin.
Arza said…
As stated in the abstract - WHG appears there mosaically. Its levels even in the same population can be very different.

That's why I think that it must have come from some unsampled population living in the Carpathian valleys, some kind of Neolithic Vlachs, HG who switched to mountain pastoralism and avoided being overran or assimilated by the EEF.

In this case not the level of WHG is important, but the kind of drift they have and the conclusion that they're of local origin.
ambron said…
And as I understand it, we expect that in Balatonkeresztúr, as well as in Nitra, the local Carpathian WHG will be a source of Balto-Slavic drift.
Arza said…
Exactly. It's always correlated with HG admixture and it be also true for Nitra culture.

https://slavicorigins.blogspot.com/2021/08/eaa-2021-abstracts.html
"The homogeneity of the male lineages of the Nitra culture’s population, the detected distinct ancestry components and the comparison of the male and female admixture signals"

ambron said…
Arza, maybe this is also a clue of Balto-Slavic drift:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-94932-9

It's about the excess of WHG in Jagodnjak.
ambron said…
Arza, the authors point to one genetic signature (Central European) Jagodnjak with Mako, and you once wrote about Mako like this:

"Tollense shares its specific WHG ancestry (aka "Balto-Slavic drift") with Baltic_BA, Balto-Slavs, and many groups from the Balkans or Carpathians. From the samples we currently have: Mokrin, Kyjatice, Fuzesabony, Mako, Hungarian Bell Beaker, Hallstatt, La Tene, Vekerzug. All these groups are closely related to each other and are a part of a Carpathian metapopulation (Baltic_BA and Balto-Slavs included)."
ambron said…
An important statement by Matt in this context:

"@ambron, yes, I agree that what Arza says there is plausible and I don't think any of this comes as a surprise to you. I thought it was interesting as there is often a suggestion that Global25 has created a false affinity between these WHG-rich samples and Baltic or Slavic peoples, but I haven't had a group of samples that's good enough before to test if this is the case in formal stats. And the formal stats to me seem to support the affinity being real and not false, and moreover that these samples aren't necessarily well explained by being between Latvia_BA and other populations, necessarily."
ambron said…
And my comment on Eurogenes:

Thus, the Balto-Slavic drift is a real phenomenon, not an artifact of the adopted method. The Balto-Slavic drift is not an effect to the admixture of the Baltic BA. And that's the most important thing.
Arza said…
@ ambron
Re: Jagodnjak

In the presentation of A. Sz-N. there were also earlier (EBA) Croatian samples that were much more HG-rich than the ones from Jagodnjak. I expect that they'll also show "the Balto-Slavic drift", just like the MBA ones from Jagodnjak.

ambron said…
My only concern is when we will see the publication of Nagy's work. As it is known from the backstage, the team plans to do several doctorates on this research.
Arza said…
On a previous conference Anna discussed prepublication results in her keynote speech. This year she had a presentation with a title and an abstract, so the study is likely almost ready. EAA 2022 will be held in Budapest and Carpathians will be one of the topics:

https://mobilitas.ri.abtk.hu/wp-content/uploads/EAA2022-Bp-768x432.jpg

https://mobilitas.ri.abtk.hu/?media=tagulo-horizontok-kutatocsoportunk-eloadasai-az-europai-regeszek-szovetsege-27-eves-konferenciajan&lang=hu

So it's highly likely that a lot of studies about Carpathians will be published around that time.

BTW There's a podcast with Daniel Gerber, but unfortunately it's in Hungarian without any transcription:

https://mobilitas.ri.abtk.hu/?media=a-mult-helyszineloi-regeszeti-es-archeogenetikai-kutatasokrol-a-glossza-uj-adasaban&lang=hu

https://soundcloud.com/user-225585157/a-mult-helyszineloi-beszelgetes-fabian-szilviaval-es-gerber-daniellel-1
Arza said…
Investigating Goth migration using genetic and isotopic data
Maciej Chyleński
The migration of Goths and its consequences was undoubtedly one of the most important events shaping Europe in the period of Roman influence. Therefore it is not surprising that they arouse unfailing interest of researchers and history enthusiasts. However, despite this interest, the combination of these known from the history of migration with any empirical data proves to be a difficult challenge. In the area of present-day Poland, the migration of Goths is most often associated with the archaeology of the Wielbark culture. The newcomers in Pomerania are especially associated with In particular, the relatively sudden appearance of elaborate stone constructions (such The newcomers are particularly associated with the relatively sudden appearance of elaborate stone constructions (such as stele circles or cobblestones) in cemeteries associated with this culture. However, some researchers believe that the native origin of the Wielbark culture should not However, some scholars believe that the native origin of the Wielbark culture should not be in doubt as there are numerous indications that it gradually developed However, some researchers believe that the native origin of the Wielbark culture should not be in doubt as there are numerous indications that it gradually developed in the first century AD from the preceding Oksywska culture. However, the same researchers admit that the sudden appearance of the above-mentioned stone structures, immediately various forms, can only be explained by some kind of migration from the lands of Scandinavia, where analogous structures were present in earlier periods. In our project we intend to use the latest techniques developed by geochemistry and genetics to investigate the emergence and spread of the Goths identified with the Wielbark culture. Almost all of the burials selected for our study selected for our study come from cemeteries of the Wielbark culture where stone constructions were present. The samples we have collected will be dissected using radiocarbon methods and subjected to genetic analyses. Moreover, all samples will be analysed in terms of isotopes of carbon and nitrogen in collagen and carbon, strontium and oxygen in dental enamel. Migrations Goths are about as ideal a phenomenon to use these methods as the geological background in Scandinavia differs significantly from that in northern Poland and the isotopic composition reflecting this background should differ significantly between potential arrivals and local communities.

https://projekty.ncn.gov.pl/index.php?projekt_id=502034

Amount granted: 768,128 PLN
Project commencement: 2021-10-01
Project completion: 2024-09-30
Planned project duration: 36 months (from proposal)
Project status: in progress
Arza said…
The place of women in Early Bronze Age communities of southeastern Poland based on interdisciplinary research
Anita Szczepanek
The aim of the project is to establish the role of women in Early Bronze Age communities (2300-1600 BC) on the basis of interdisciplinary analyses of materials of the mierzanowicka culture from southeastern Poland. The task will be carried out through a comprehensive study of a selected cemetery of the mierzanowicka culture (60 individuals), followed by analogous analyses of selected series of representatives of this culture from sites located in southeastern Poland (40 individuals). The interdisciplinary analyses will include archaeogenetic and isotopic studies, allowing for the establishment of absolute chronology, reconstruction of the diet of buried individuals, as well as their place of residence and possible migrations. The selected area, which is a gateway to Central Europe, has always been a terrain penetrated by various population groups, with various purposes - from plunder to settlement. Today, modern research methods make it possible to follow these migration routes and to capture changes in local communities previously recorded by the emergence of new cultural elements, ranging from monuments to settlement and belief changes reflected in funerary rituals. The aim of the project is to verify a number of hypotheses concerning the role of women in Early Bronze Age communities against the background of male representatives: - women show greater genetic variation in both mtDNA, as well as nuclear - verification through aDNA analyses - women are more mobile - verification through strontium isotope analyses - women show greater morphological differentiation - verification through anthropological analyses - women's and men's diets differ and the diet of the women's group is differentiated and depends on the social status - verification through stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses - the position of women in the local community is reflected in the grave furnishings - verification through archaeological analysis taking into account the results of microscopic examination of pottery, traseological analyses of flint tools and neodymium isotope determinations in faience beads indicating their origin). The recording of female/male differences using interdisciplinary research will thus be confronted with the results of archaeological analyses. The comprehensive results will provide new data from materials collected during many years of research conducted in the 20th century. The results of the research will be published in a monograph on the necropolis of the people of the Mierzanowice culture in Krzyżanowice Dolne and a series of articles with an international range, as well as presented at local and international conferences The anthropological analysis will be carried out in accordance with classical research methodology supplemented with odontological and palaeopathological analyses and morphological analyses of the bones which allow establishing the degree of development of muscle attachments. Interdisciplinary analyses will include radiocarbon dating, aDNA and isotopic studies that will allow for the reconstruction of genetic structure, paleodiversity (stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen) and individual mobility of individuals (strontium isotopes), as well as the origin of faience beads (neodymium isotope analyses). The interdisciplinary analyses will be carried out in the centers with which we have collaborated during previous projects. Results of specialist research will be confronted with analyses of archaeological artefacts furnishing the graves of the analysed people. Simultaneously, microscopic analysis of ceramics and traseological analysis of flint tools will be carried out. The traseology of the flint artefacts will allow us to grasp the possible relationships: artefact-act-morphology of the skeleton- paleo diet.
Arza said…
The purpose of the pottery analysis will be to determine the extent to which local raw materials were used to make vessels. This will allow capturing the relationships: vessel-person-mobility-genetics-gender. The project covers a territory that, after a period of major cultural transformations in the late Neolithic, associated with population movements and significant cultural changes, is outside the Early Bronze Age centers of civilization. However, it is an area of perception of new cultural patterns processed in local communities. The population of the Mierzanowice culture has not yet been subjected to systematic, multifaceted interdisciplinary analyses, including genetic ones, which is a clear gap between the already partially recognized communities of the Late Neolithic (the Shoemaker culture) and the Older Bronze Age (the Cretaceous culture) from southeastern Poland. This difference applies also to the synchronic Unetice culture, the settlement of which also includes the lands of western Poland. Pilot studies, mainly isotopic, have yielded interesting results, so broadening the spectrum of research and the analyzed sample will certainly be a valuable contribution to the development of science. The materials selected for the study are the most representative for the Polish lands, acquired during many years of research conducted by the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences and museum institutions in south-eastern Poland. A multifaceted study of these materials will be of fundamental importance for research into the beginnings of the Bronze Age in Central Europe.

https://projekty.ncn.gov.pl/index.php?projekt_id=497704

Amount granted: 1,292,923 PLN
Project start: 2021-06-02
Project completion: 2025-06-01
Planned project duration: 48 months (from proposal)
Project status: in progress
ambron said…
Both projects are very interesting, but the results are far away. However, everything indicates that the Wielbark and Mierzanowice genomes from other projects will be available soon.
Arza said…
I13780 - https://www.yfull.com/tree/R-YP5267/
I13795 - https://www.yfull.com/tree/R-Z280/ (xZ92,CTS1211)
I14193 - https://www.yfull.com/tree/R-Z280/ (xCTS1211)
I18719 - https://www.yfull.com/tree/I-CTS10228/
I25524 - https://www.yfull.com/tree/R-M458/

From:
Large-Scale Migration into Southern Britain During the Middle to Late Bronze Age
https://www.ebi.ac.uk/ena/browser/view/PRJEB47891?show=reads
Arza said…
https://submissions.e-a-a.org/eaa2021/repository/preview.php?Abstract=93

A new study of whole genome ancient DNA from Bronze and Iron Age populations, focusing on Britain but including substantial new datasets for areas of continental Europe, has also identified major genetic changes in the Middle-Late Bronze Age (c. 1300‒800 BCE). In Britain specifically, a rise in ancestry derived from Early European Farmers (EEF) appears to represent an influx of people from a region most likely located in present-day France. Due to a paucity of aDNA coverage in the potential source region(s), it is presently impossible to determine whether the movement of people was reciprocal or unidirectional. It is striking, however, that many of those who moved appear to have been female. Similar genetic changes are evident in the Netherlands and Czechia, although based on fewer samples, while in Iberia we see a decrease in EEF ancestry.
Arza said…
I13780 - https://www.yfull.com/tree/R-YP5267/ - here the terminal SNP may be wrong (single G>A), as according to YFull it's a little bit too young for La Tene. If incorrect, I13780 is a plain L1029.

Both Z280 are from the Bronze Age.
ambron said…
So it seems that we finally have La Tene L1029, announced long ago by David.
Arza said…
There are no Z93. Both are erroneous reads.
Arza said…
@ ambron

Tell Waldemar that most if not all of the samples he listed are females:

"I11034: R-YP561
I11708: R-YP561
I11993: R-YP561
I12790: R-YP561
I13791: R-YP561
I14980: R-YP561
I15049: R-YP561
I16430: R-YP561"

Vladimir said…
I understand these samples are not only from Britain, but also from continental Europe?
Arza said…
@ Vladimir
Yes, they're from several countries from Central and Western Europe.
Arza said…
OK...

I13780 - https://www.yfull.com/tree/R-YP5267/
is mixed Slavic - Germanic/Celtic

I13795 - https://www.yfull.com/tree/R-Z280/ (xZ92,CTS1211)
is French-like

I14193 - https://www.yfull.com/tree/R-Z280/ (xCTS1211)
is Sintashta-like

I18719 - https://www.yfull.com/tree/I-CTS10228/
is Bulgarian-like

I25524 - https://www.yfull.com/tree/R-M458/
is Lithuanian-like

ambron said…
I13780 - https://www.yfull.com/tree/R-YP5267/
is mixed Slavic - Germanic/Celtic

So just like the MX265.

I25524 - https://www.yfull.com/tree/R-M458/
is Lithuanian-like

This may be interesting because, as far as I know, there are no Pribaltika samples in this collection. This could be another Czech (or nearby) Baltic BA after VLI051.
Arza said…
MX265 has some Balkan ancestry (his similarity to modern day South Slavs is not accidental after all). I13780 resembles the Swedes (he's 1/4 Slavic).

I'm not sure if they'll look the same in G25, but in a PCA that I have there are multiple female and some male samples with "non-Slavic" hgs that look like modern day Slavs.
ambron said…
So the people of La Tene must have had quite a lot of Slavic genes in general, which can also be seen it I20774.
Arza said…
Some Balto-Slavic-like samples on a PCA:
https://i.postimg.cc/hK5WkJjf/LBAIA-unknown.png

Few notes:
- in G25 some samples may appear to be less Balto-Slavic as the PCA above seems to be better at picking up the "Balto-Slavic-drift" (potentially exaggerating it),
- I20515 seems to be WHG-rich (think Tollense) and not Russian-like.
ambron said…
Is there anything more known about these two samples that group with Poles and the one that groups with Slovaks?
Arza said…
Not much. I only know that one of the samples that is close to Poles is from Early Iron Age Slovakia.
Arza said…
Re: I13780 terminal SNP

Hard to say whether this read is correct or not, but there's nothing suspicious in the bam file:

chry 23495214 YP5269 R1a1a1b1a1a1c1a3a~ G->A G A 1 100 A D

23207:13567:13556 0 Y 23495182 37 40M * 0 0 CAATGGTCCAGAGCTTGTAACCCAGCACTTTCAGGTGTAA EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE X0:i:1 X1:i:0 MD:Z:32G7 XD:Z:GACTGTA_GCTACAT_40 RG:Z:Hupyrian_1240k_plus_half_S13780.Y1.E1.L1_20181105_HN2JLBGX7_1 XG:i:0 NM:i:1 XM:i:1 XO:i:0 XT:A:U

Mapping and base quality are both high. Additionally the filename reveals that Harvard has finally found the elusive Slavic homeland:

"The Hupyrians were a humanoid species native to either the Alpha or Beta Quadrant. They had tight skin with a slightly scowling expression."

It also explains how Slavs have appeared so suddenly and unexpectedly - they've used teleports and cloaking devices.

PS The sample is at least 3 years old - "20181105".
ambron said…
So, can we assume that the designation R-YP5267 is correct?
Arza said…
It's really hard to say. As usual there're multiple erroneous reads also in this sample so it can be one of them.

Besides that 2 nodes between YP5267 and L1029 have just a single mutation. YFull estimates the time between the formation of YP5267 and the TMRCA of L1029 to be 400 years, but in reality it could've had happened in 40 years.
Brent said…
Hi Arza,

Is it possible to compare the I13780 sample to the LIB11 sample you covered here:

https://slavicorigins.blogspot.com/2021/05/surplus-eef-ancestry-in-modern-day-slavs.html?m=1
Arza said…
Hi.

They're different. LIB11 has a genetic profile of an early Slavic population that've moved South and gave rise to the South Slavs. I13780 looks like a Celt with a Slavic, Russian-like grandparent.

Hard to say more without an official data release (properly processed data, dating, other samples from the same area etc.).
EastPole said…
There is new G25 data for Celtic paper. I added following comments at Eurogenes:


Some time ago I proposed following model for Slavic expansion and diversity:
https://postimg.cc/64y9tHdK

Arza fund following Slavic Y-DNA in Celtic papier data:
I13780 - https://www.yfull.com/tree/R-YP5267/
is mixed Slavic - Germanic/Celtic

I13795 - https://www.yfull.com/tree/R-Z280/ (xZ92,CTS1211)
is French-like

I14193 - https://www.yfull.com/tree/R-Z280/ (xCTS1211)
is Sintashta-like

I18719 - https://www.yfull.com/tree/I-CTS10228/
is Bulgarian-like

I25524 - https://www.yfull.com/tree/R-M458/
is Lithuanian-like

I have added new G25 data with Slavic Y-DNA:

https://postimg.cc/tn10zh5C

It seems to confirm my model. The diversity of early Slavs was probably even greater as they mixed with adjacent populations:
Linguistically and culturally Sintashta was very close to early Slavs as links with Mierzanowice, Unetice and Trzciniec show.
Arza said…
Re: L1029 I13780:

Target: Celtic_paper:I13780
Distance: 1.1832% / 0.01183218 | R3P
38.2 Danish
32.0 Russian_Tver
29.8 Dutch

Arza said…
@ EastPole

According to the abstract from A. Szecsenyi-Nagy in Nitra we should expect some outliers, especially among the females. I wouldn't be surprised if Nitra fell 1:1 into that shape.
ambron said…
Arza, it is rumored that a study on the genetics of ancient Slovakia is about to appear. Do you know anything about it?
Arza said…
@ ambron

What rumours?

Apparently there's a plenty of new data from the neolithic up to medieval times.
ambron said…
I wonder when we see them.
Arza said…
I have no idea.