Network of large pedigrees reveals social practices of Avar communities

Guido Alberto Gnecchi-Ruscone (), Zsófia Rácz, Levente Samu, Tamás Szeniczey, Norbert Faragó, Corina Knipper, Ronny Friedrich, Denisa Zlámalová, Luca Traverso, Salvatore Liccardo, Sandra Wabnitz, Divyaratan Popli, Ke Wang, Rita Radzeviciute, Bence Gulyás, István Koncz, Csilla Balogh, Gabriella M. Lezsák, Viktor Mácsai, Magdalena M. E. Bunbury, Olga Spekker, Petrus Roux, Anna Szécsényi-Nagy, Balázs Gusztáv Mende, Heidi Colleran, Tamás Hajdu, Patrick Geary, Walter Pohl, Tivadar Vida (), Johannes Krause () and Zuzana Hofmanová ()
Additional contact information
Guido Alberto Gnecchi-Ruscone: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Zsófia Rácz: ELTE - Eötvös Loránd University
Levente Samu: ELTE - Eötvös Loránd University
Tamás Szeniczey: ELTE - Eötvös Loránd University
Norbert Faragó: ELTE - Eötvös Loránd University
Corina Knipper: Curt Engelhorn Center for Archaeometry gGmbH
Ronny Friedrich: Curt Engelhorn Center for Archaeometry gGmbH
Denisa Zlámalová: Masaryk University
Luca Traverso: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Salvatore Liccardo: University of Vienna
Sandra Wabnitz: University of Vienna
Divyaratan Popli: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Ke Wang: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Rita Radzeviciute: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Bence Gulyás: Hungarian National Museum
István Koncz: ELTE - Eötvös Loránd University
Csilla Balogh: Istanbul Medeniyet University
Gabriella M. Lezsák: HUN-REN Research Centre for the Humanities
Viktor Mácsai: ELTE - Eötvös Loránd University
Magdalena M. E. Bunbury: James Cook University
Olga Spekker: ELTE - Eötvös Loránd University
Petrus Roux: University of Cape Town
Anna Szécsényi-Nagy: HUN-REN Research Centre for the Humanities
Balázs Gusztáv Mende: HUN-REN Research Centre for the Humanities
Heidi Colleran: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Tamás Hajdu: ELTE - Eötvös Loránd University
Patrick Geary: Institute for Advanced Study
Walter Pohl: University of Vienna
Tivadar Vida: ELTE - Eötvös Loránd University
Johannes Krause: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Zuzana Hofmanová: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology

Nature, 2024, vol. 629, issue 8011, 376-383

Abstract: Abstract From ad 567–568, at the onset of the Avar period, populations from the Eurasian Steppe settled in the Carpathian Basin for approximately 250 years1. Extensive sampling for archaeogenomics (424 individuals) and isotopes, combined with archaeological, anthropological and historical contextualization of four Avar-period cemeteries, allowed for a detailed description of the genomic structure of these communities and their kinship and social practices. We present a set of large pedigrees, reconstructed using ancient DNA, spanning nine generations and comprising around 300 individuals. We uncover a strict patrilineal kinship system, in which patrilocality and female exogamy were the norm and multiple reproductive partnering and levirate unions were common. The absence of consanguinity indicates that this society maintained a detailed memory of ancestry over generations. These kinship practices correspond with previous evidence from historical sources and anthropological research on Eurasian Steppe societies2. Network analyses of identity-by-descent DNA connections suggest that social cohesion between communities was maintained via female exogamy. Finally, despite the absence of major ancestry shifts, the level of resolution of our analyses allowed us to detect genetic discontinuity caused by the replacement of a community at one of the sites. This was paralleled with changes in the archaeological record and was probably a result of local political realignment.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07312-4

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