The Huns appeared in Europe in the 370s, establishing an Empire that reshaped West Eurasian history. Yet until today their origins remain a matter of extensive debate. Traditional theories link them to the Xiongnu, the founders of the first nomadic empire of the Mongolian steppe. The Xiongnu empire dissolved, however, ~300 y before the Huns appeared in Europe, and there is little archaeological and historical evidence of Huns in the steppe during this time gap. Furthermore, despite the rich 5th to 6th centuries current era (CE) archaeological record of the Carpathian Basin, the cultural elements of connections with the steppe are limited to few findings and even fewer solitary eastern-type burials. In this study, we coanalyze archaeological evidence with 35 newly sequenced and published genomic data for a total of 370 individuals-from 5th to 6th century CE contexts in the Carpathian Basin including 10 Hun-period eastern-type burials, 2nd to 5th century sites across Central Asia and 2nd c. before current era (BCE) to 1st c. CE Xiongnu period sites across the Mongolian steppe. We find no evidence for the presence of a large eastern/steppe descent community among the Hun- and post-Hun-period Carpathian Basin population. We also observe a high genetic diversity among the eastern-type burials that recapitulates the variability observed across the Eurasian Steppe. This suggests a mixed origin of the incoming steppe conquerors. Nevertheless, long-shared genomic tracts provide compelling evidence of genetic lineages directly connecting some individuals of the highest Xiongnu-period elite with 5th to 6th century CE Carpathian Basin individuals, showing that some European Huns descended from them.

• Keywords
• Huns, Middle Ages, Xiongnu, ancient DNA, trans-Eurasian mobility,
• MeSH
• Archaeology MeSH
• History, Ancient MeSH
• Genome, Human * MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Human Migration * history   MeSH
• DNA, Ancient * analysis   MeSH
• Check Tag
• History, Ancient MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Historical Article MeSH
• Geographicals
• Europe MeSH
• Names of Substances
• DNA, Ancient * MeSH

After a long-distance migration, Avars with Eastern Asian ancestry arrived in Eastern Central Europe in 567 to 568 CE and encountered groups with very different European ancestry1,2. We used ancient genome-wide data of 722 individuals and fine-grained interdisciplinary analysis of large seventh- to eighth-century CE neighbouring cemeteries south of Vienna (Austria) to address the centuries-long impact of this encounter1,2. We found that even 200 years after immigration, the ancestry at one site (Leobersdorf) remained dominantly East Asian-like, whereas the other site (Mödling) shows local, European-like ancestry. These two nearby sites show little biological relatedness, despite sharing a distinctive late-Avar culture3,4. We reconstructed six-generation pedigrees at both sites including up to 450 closely related individuals, allowing per-generation demographic profiling of the communities. Despite different ancestry, these pedigrees together with large networks of distant relatedness show absence of consanguinity, patrilineal pattern with female exogamy, multiple reproductive partnerships (for example, levirate) and direct correlation of biological connectivity with archaeological markers of social status. The generation-long genetic barrier was maintained by systematically choosing partners with similar ancestry from other sites in the Avar realm. Leobersdorf had more biological connections with the Avar heartlands than with Mödling, which is instead linked to another site from the Vienna Basin with European-like ancestry. Mobility between sites was mostly due to female exogamy pointing to different marriage networks as the main driver of the maintenance of the genetic barrier.

• MeSH
• Asian People genetics   MeSH
• White MeSH
• White People genetics   MeSH
• History, Ancient MeSH
• Genome, Human genetics   MeSH
• Culture * MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Human Migration * history   MeSH
• Consanguinity MeSH
• Reproductive Isolation * MeSH
• Pedigree MeSH
• Reproduction * genetics   MeSH
• DNA, Ancient * analysis   MeSH
• Check Tag
• History, Ancient MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Historical Article MeSH
• Geographicals
• Austria MeSH
• Names of Substances
• DNA, Ancient * MeSH

Elites played a pivotal role in the formation of post-Roman Europe on both macro- and microlevels during the Early Medieval period. History and archaeology have long focused on their description and identification based on written sources or through their archaeological record. We provide a different perspective on this topic by integrating paleogenomic, archaeological, and isotopic data to gain insights into the role of one such elite group in a Langobard period community near Collegno, Italy dated to the 6-8th centuries CE. Our analysis of 28 newly sequenced genomes together with 24 previously published ones combined with isotope (Sr, C, N) measurements revealed that this community was established by and organized around a network of biologically and socially related individuals likely composed of multiple elite families that over time developed into a single extended pedigree. The community also included individuals with diverse genetic ancestries, maintaining its diversity by integrating newcomers and groups in later stages of its existence. This study highlights how shifts in political power and migration impacted the formation and development of a small rural community within a key region of the former Western Roman Empire after its dissolution and the emergence of a new kingdom. Furthermore, it suggests that Early Medieval elites had the capacity to incorporate individuals from varied backgrounds and that these elites were the result of (political) agency rather than belonging to biologically homogeneous groups.

• Keywords
• burial archaeology, isotope, late antiquity, mobility, paleogenomics,
• MeSH
• Archaeology * MeSH
• History, Ancient MeSH
• History, Medieval MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Human Migration history   MeSH
• Roman World * history   MeSH
• Check Tag
• History, Ancient MeSH
• History, Medieval MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Historical Article MeSH
• Geographicals
• Italy MeSH