The Avars, a group that arrived in the region from the East Asian steppes in the 6th century AD, settled among a diverse local population. However, questions lingered about the ancestry of those buried in these 8th-century sites: were they descendants of the Avar conquerors, the local populations, or a mixture of both?
New research, published in Nature, unveils a fascinating story of cultural integration during the Avar period in East Central Europe. By analysing ancient DNA from two burial sites near Vienna, Austria—Mödling and Leobersdorf—researchers discovered that while the two communities were genetically distinct, they shared a unified cultural identity.
Surprising Genetic Differences
Ke Wang, a geneticist and lead author of the study, revealed that DNA analysis from 500 graves in Mödling and 150 in Leobersdorf showed stark genetic differences. The Leobersdorf community was predominantly of East Asian origin, while those in Mödling had ancestry linked to European populations. “The genetic difference between these groups was very clear and consistent for most individuals at the sites,” Wang explained.
Despite these genetic distinctions, the archaeological remains and way of life at the two sites were strikingly similar. Walter Pohl, a historian at the Austrian Academy of Sciences, noted, “The cultural integration apparently worked despite major genetic differences, and these people were obviously regarded as Avars.”
A Time of Peaceful Coexistence
Contrary to the Avars’ historical reputation as warriors, this period in the Vienna Basin appears to have been marked by peace. “We find no battle injuries on the skeletons and there are hardly any signs of deficiencies,” said Doris Pany-Kucera, an anthropologist from the Natural History Museum Vienna. Weapons were rarely found in graves, further supporting the idea of a peaceful society.
Thanks to the sampling strategy and highly sensitive genetic analysis, it was possible to discover a high number of relatives among the deceased. “The large number of genetic relationships between the individuals allowed us to reconstruct contemporary six-generation-long pedigrees at each site,” says Zuzana Hofmanová from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany and Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, a geneticist and one of the senior lead authors of the study.
Only exceptionally, the individuals had no biological connection to anybody else at their burial ground. Yet, the researchers found no consanguineous relationships even between distant relatives. Interestingly, they were able to determine that almost none of the mothers had local ancestors: they must therefore have come from other regions and other communities. However, there were hardly any genetic connections between Mödling and Leobersdorf.
Both communities followed a similar social practice in choosing partners from certain other communities, through which their different ancestry was preserved: the women that became mothers in Leobersdorf apparently came from communities that also descended from East Asia (possibly from the centre of the Avar realm), while in Mödling they were of European descent. Yet they did not differ in status or wealth. “Status symbols such as belt fittings depicting griffins, and their culture and customs were the same. Most likely both considered themselves Avars,” says Bendeguz Tobias, an archeologist and one of the lead authors of the study.
A Foundation for Future Research
This study is among the largest genetic analyses of burial grounds ever conducted. “Mödling burial ground is one of the largest ever analyzed genetically, and such results hold a lot of potential for future research in various disciplines,” said Johannes Krause, director at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
Nature research paper: Ancient DNA reveals reproductive barrier despite shared Avar-period culture
The findings demonstrate how genetic diversity and cultural unity coexisted in early medieval societies, offering new insights into the complexity of human history. The article, “Ancient DNA reveals reproductive barrier despite shared Avar-period culture,” by Ke Wang, Bendeguz Tobias, Doris Pany-Kucera, Margit Berner, Sabine Eggers, Guido Alberto Gnecchi-Ruscone, Denisa Zlámalová, Joscha Gretzinger, Pavlína Ingrová, Adam B. Rohrlach, Jonathan Tuke, Luca Traverso, Paul Klostermann, Robin Koger, Ronny Friedrich, Karin Wiltschke-Schrotta, Sylvia Kirchengast, Salvatore Liccardo, Sandra Wabnitz, Tivadar Vida, Patrick J. Geary, Falko Daim, Walter Pohl, Johannes Krause and Zuzana Hofmanová, appears in Nature. Click here to read it.
The Avars, a group that arrived in the region from the East Asian steppes in the 6th century AD, settled among a diverse local population. However, questions lingered about the ancestry of those buried in these 8th-century sites: were they descendants of the Avar conquerors, the local populations, or a mixture of both?
New research, published in Nature, unveils a fascinating story of cultural integration during the Avar period in East Central Europe. By analysing ancient DNA from two burial sites near Vienna, Austria—Mödling and Leobersdorf—researchers discovered that while the two communities were genetically distinct, they shared a unified cultural identity.
Surprising Genetic Differences
Ke Wang, a geneticist and lead author of the study, revealed that DNA analysis from 500 graves in Mödling and 150 in Leobersdorf showed stark genetic differences. The Leobersdorf community was predominantly of East Asian origin, while those in Mödling had ancestry linked to European populations. “The genetic difference between these groups was very clear and consistent for most individuals at the sites,” Wang explained.
Despite these genetic distinctions, the archaeological remains and way of life at the two sites were strikingly similar. Walter Pohl, a historian at the Austrian Academy of Sciences, noted, “The cultural integration apparently worked despite major genetic differences, and these people were obviously regarded as Avars.”
A Time of Peaceful Coexistence
Contrary to the Avars’ historical reputation as warriors, this period in the Vienna Basin appears to have been marked by peace. “We find no battle injuries on the skeletons and there are hardly any signs of deficiencies,” said Doris Pany-Kucera, an anthropologist from the Natural History Museum Vienna. Weapons were rarely found in graves, further supporting the idea of a peaceful society.
Thanks to the sampling strategy and highly sensitive genetic analysis, it was possible to discover a high number of relatives among the deceased. “The large number of genetic relationships between the individuals allowed us to reconstruct contemporary six-generation-long pedigrees at each site,” says Zuzana Hofmanová from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany and Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, a geneticist and one of the senior lead authors of the study.
Only exceptionally, the individuals had no biological connection to anybody else at their burial ground. Yet, the researchers found no consanguineous relationships even between distant relatives. Interestingly, they were able to determine that almost none of the mothers had local ancestors: they must therefore have come from other regions and other communities. However, there were hardly any genetic connections between Mödling and Leobersdorf.
Both communities followed a similar social practice in choosing partners from certain other communities, through which their different ancestry was preserved: the women that became mothers in Leobersdorf apparently came from communities that also descended from East Asia (possibly from the centre of the Avar realm), while in Mödling they were of European descent. Yet they did not differ in status or wealth. “Status symbols such as belt fittings depicting griffins, and their culture and customs were the same. Most likely both considered themselves Avars,” says Bendeguz Tobias, an archeologist and one of the lead authors of the study.
A Foundation for Future Research
This study is among the largest genetic analyses of burial grounds ever conducted. “Mödling burial ground is one of the largest ever analyzed genetically, and such results hold a lot of potential for future research in various disciplines,” said Johannes Krause, director at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
The findings demonstrate how genetic diversity and cultural unity coexisted in early medieval societies, offering new insights into the complexity of human history. The article, “Ancient DNA reveals reproductive barrier despite shared Avar-period culture,” by Ke Wang, Bendeguz Tobias, Doris Pany-Kucera, Margit Berner, Sabine Eggers, Guido Alberto Gnecchi-Ruscone, Denisa Zlámalová, Joscha Gretzinger, Pavlína Ingrová, Adam B. Rohrlach, Jonathan Tuke, Luca Traverso, Paul Klostermann, Robin Koger, Ronny Friedrich, Karin Wiltschke-Schrotta, Sylvia Kirchengast, Salvatore Liccardo, Sandra Wabnitz, Tivadar Vida, Patrick J. Geary, Falko Daim, Walter Pohl, Johannes Krause and Zuzana Hofmanová, appears in Nature. Click here to read it.
Top Image: An Avar-period cloak clasp from a female grave at Moedling, Austria. Archers were associated with a higher social status. Photo credit: © Benedict Seidl, [email protected]
Subscribe to Medievalverse
Related Posts