A genetic history of the Balkans from Roman frontier to Slavic migrations.
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| Abstract | The rise and fall of the Roman Empire was a socio-political process with enormous ramifications for human history. The Middle Danube was a crucial frontier and a crossroads for population and cultural movement. Here, we present genome-wide data from 136 Balkan individuals dated to the 1 millennium CE. Despite extensive militarization and cultural influence, we find little ancestry contribution from peoples of Italic descent. However, we trace a large-scale influx of people of Anatolian ancestry during the Imperial period. Between ∼250 and 550 CE, we detect migrants with ancestry from Central/Northern Europe and the Steppe, confirming that "barbarian" migrations were propelled by ethnically diverse confederations. Following the end of Roman control, we detect the large-scale arrival of individuals who were genetically similar to modern Eastern European Slavic-speaking populations, who contributed 30%-60% of the ancestry of Balkan people, representing one of the largest permanent demographic changes anywhere in Europe during the Migration Period. |
| Year of Publication | 2023
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| Journal | Cell
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| Volume | 186
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| Issue | 25
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| Pages | 5472-5485.e9
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| Date Published | 12/2023
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| ISSN | 1097-4172
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| DOI | 10.1016/j.cell.2023.10.018
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| PubMed ID | 38065079
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