Understanding 6th-century barbarian social organization and migration through paleogenomics

Carlos Eduardo G. Amorim, Stefania Vai, Cosimo Posth, Alessandra Modi, István Koncz, Susanne Hakenbeck, Maria Cristina Rocca, Balazs Mende, Dean Bobo, Walter Pohl, Luisella Pejrani Baricco, Elena Bedini, Paolo Francalacci, Caterina Giostra, Tivadar Vida, Daniel Winger, Uta Freeden, Silvia Ghirotto, Martina Lari, Guido Barbujani, Johannes Krause (), David Caramelli (), Patrick J. Geary () and Krishna R. Veeramah ()
Additional contact information
Carlos Eduardo G. Amorim: Stony Brook University
Stefania Vai: Dipartimento di Biologia Università degli Studi di Firenze
Cosimo Posth: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
Alessandra Modi: Dipartimento di Biologia Università degli Studi di Firenze
István Koncz: Eötvös Loránd University
Susanne Hakenbeck: University of Cambridge
Maria Cristina Rocca: Università degli studi di Padova
Balazs Mende: Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Dean Bobo: Stony Brook University
Walter Pohl: Institut für Mittelalterforschung, Österreichische Akadamie der Wissenschaften
Luisella Pejrani Baricco: Archeologia e Storia dell’Arte, Università cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Elena Bedini: Archeologia e Storia dell’Arte, Università cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Paolo Francalacci: Università di Cagliari
Caterina Giostra: Archeologia e Storia dell’Arte, Università cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Tivadar Vida: Eötvös Loránd University
Daniel Winger: Heinrich Schliemann-Institut für Altertumswissenschaften Universität Rostock
Uta Freeden: Römisch-Germanische Kommission des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts
Silvia Ghirotto: Università degli Studi di Ferrara
Martina Lari: Dipartimento di Biologia Università degli Studi di Firenze
Guido Barbujani: Università degli Studi di Ferrara
Johannes Krause: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
David Caramelli: Dipartimento di Biologia Università degli Studi di Firenze
Patrick J. Geary: Institute for Advanced Study
Krishna R. Veeramah: Stony Brook University

Nature Communications, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Despite centuries of research, much about the barbarian migrations that took place between the fourth and sixth centuries in Europe remains hotly debated. To better understand this key era that marks the dawn of modern European societies, we obtained ancient genomic DNA from 63 samples from two cemeteries (from Hungary and Northern Italy) that have been previously associated with the Longobards, a barbarian people that ruled large parts of Italy for over 200 years after invading from Pannonia in 568 CE. Our dense cemetery-based sampling revealed that each cemetery was primarily organized around one large pedigree, suggesting that biological relationships played an important role in these early medieval societies. Moreover, we identified genetic structure in each cemetery involving at least two groups with different ancestry that were very distinct in terms of their funerary customs. Finally, our data are consistent with the proposed long-distance migration from Pannonia to Northern Italy.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-06024-4

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