Biology subjects

Szecsenyi-Nagy, A.

Publications and source records attributed to Szecsenyi-Nagy, A..

18 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Ancient human genomes from the Altai region reveal population continuity and shifts in the 4th-12th centuries

The Altai region is a crossroads of the Asian steppes. However, the population history of the region remains understudied. We analyse ancient human genomes from the Altai and Ob regions, creating a ca. 1400-year-long time transect with 91 new data. We demonstrate an Iron Age genetic variety that continued into the Medieval era, with additional large-scale spread of East Asian genetic ancestry coinciding with the rise and spread of the Turkic cultural customs. Furthermore, we find a unique lineage in the Early Medieval Altai with elevated Ancient North Eurasian ancestry, providing a missing link between the North Eurasian hunter-gatherers and modern North Asian people. We identify distinct genetic patterns and connections among populations of the Mountainous and the Forest-Steppe Altai in the 4th-8th centuries.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2025

The shifting dynamics of ancestry and culture at a post-Roman crossroads

The collapse of the western Roman Empire in the 5th century created a period of geopolitical upheaval, driven by Barbarians dispersing into the former Empire and reshaping post-Roman communities. While there is now evidence for a major genetic impact of these migrations into specific regions of Europe, it is unknown whether these changes in ancestry were uniform across the continent. We investigate present-day Slovenia, a crucial crossroad connecting the Roman East and West and the gate to Italy during the Langobard invasion. We conducted paleogenomic and isotopic analyses of 410 individuals from 21 sites across Slovenia and Cividale (Italy), establishing a longitudinal transect, spanning eight centuries. During Late Antiquity, despite changes in burial artifacts, kinship practices, and settlement structures reflecting a shift in culture, we find high levels of genetic continuity with the local Late Roman population and reduced mobility. However, demographic turnover began during the 8th century, when communities with northeastern European ancestry and distinct cultural practices entered the region, gradually advancing westward over the span of three centuries, replacing the local populations. This shows that cultural change in post-Roman Europe could be decoupled from genetic change in transit zones, demonstrating a dynamic spatiotemporal process across the continent.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2025

Unveiling the complexity of post-Roman polity formation using ancient DNA

The transformation of the Roman world (4th-9th centuries CE) culminating in the dissolution of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century marked a fundamental transition in European history. "Barbarian" groups and Roman provincial societies merged into enduring political frameworks in some places but not in others. Key questions persist regarding the regionally specific nature of this transformation. Here, we present one of the most densely sampled early medieval datasets to date, enabling the reconstruction of a post-Roman polity at an unprecedented micro-regional resolution. Our integrated genetic and archaeological analysis of two Roman-period (n=68) and five post-Roman (n=246) sites from the Little Hungarian Plain, a former Roman frontier region, reveals a significant increase in Northern European genetic ancestry, likely reflecting a large-scale population movement into the region. Moreover, while all post-Roman sites, dated to the time of the Langobard Kingdom, share similar genetic profiles, burial practices, and material culture, they display distinct patterns of social organization, especially regarding the role that biological relatedness played in each community. Our results suggest that distinct social hierarchies might have existed between sites, and their intensive connectivity probably formed the basis for regional-level organisation within the post-Roman polity. Our study provides a framework for investigating how new polities take shape after the collapse of major political systems. Applied more broadly, this approach can deepen our understanding of societal transformation across early medieval Europe and beyond, offering a richer and more nuanced view of the human past than ever before.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2025

Murder in cold blood? Forensic and bioarchaeological identification of the skeletal remains of Bela, Duke of Macso (c. 1245-1272)

In 1915, the remains of a male were discovered in a 13th-century monastery on Margaret Island, Budapest. Historical context suggested that the remains may belong to Duke Bela of Macso (c. 1245-1272), grandson of King Bela IV of Hungary (House of Arpad) and son of Duke Rostislav (Rurik dynasty). We applied a complex approach to identify the individual and reconstruct the circumstances of his death. Radiocarbon dating, when adjusted for freshwater reservoir effects linked to a high-protein diet, placed the burial in the mid-13th century. Skeletal features corresponded to a young adult male. Stable isotope and dental calculus analyses indicated a high-status diet rich in animal proteins and C3 cereals. Ancient DNA confirmed descent from King Bela III (Arpad dynasty) and Y-chromosomal affiliation with the Rurikid lineage. Forensic evidence revealed 26 perimortem injuries, suggesting a coordinated, premeditated assassination involving at least three assailants. The pattern of injuries indicates both planning and intense emotional involvement. Our findings provide the first genetic identification of a medieval royal, and resolve a century-old archaeological question, and illustrate the power of integrating multidisciplinary methods to confirm historical hypotheses and reconstruct violent deaths from the past with unprecedented detail. TeaserWith unprecedented details, this study shows the impact of integrating multidisciplinary methods to confirm historical hypotheses and reconstruct violent deaths from the past.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2025

Ancient DNA indicates 3,000 years of genetic continuity in the Northern Iranian Plateau, from the Copper Age to the Sassanid Empire

In this study, we present new ancient DNA data from prehistoric and historic populations of the Iranian Plateau. By analysing 50 samples from nine archaeological sites across Iran, we report 23 newly sequenced mitogenomes and 13 nuclear genomes, spanning 4700 BCE to 1300 CE. We integrate an extensive reference sample set of previously published ancient DNA datasets from Western and South-Central Asia, enhancing our understanding of genetic continuity and diversity within ancient Iranian populations. A new Early Chalcolithic sample, predating all other Chalcolithic genomes from Iran, demonstrates mostly Early Neolithic Iranian genetic ancestry. This finding reflects long-term cultural and biological continuity in and around the Zagros area, alongside evidence of some western genetic influence. Our sample selection prioritizes northern Iran, with a particular focus on the Achaemenid, Parthian, and Sassanid periods (355 BCE-460 CE). The genetic profiles of historical samples from this region position them as intermediates on an east-west genetic cline across the Persian Plateau. They also exhibit strong connections to local and South-Central Asian Bronze Age populations, underscoring enduring genetic connections across these regions. Diachronic analyses of uniparental lineages on the Iranian Plateau further highlight population stability from prehistoric to modern times.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2025

Ancient DNA reveals diverse community organizations in the 5th millennium BCE Carpathian Basin

Little is known about the genetic connection system and community organization of Late Neolithic and Early Copper Age populations of the Carpathian Basin. Here, we present a comprehensive genetic investigation of these populations, leveraging whole genome data from 125 individuals. Using population genetics, kinship analyses and the study of networks of identity-by-descent haplotype segment sharing, we elucidate the social and genetic dynamics of these communities between 4800-3900 calibrated years BCE. Despite changes in settlement patterns, burial practices, and material culture, we document a high degree of genetic continuity. While one set of individuals from a large community cemetery is genetically diverse, another site is more homogenous and closed, with numerous consanguineous relationships and evidence of patrilineality and patrilocality. In this work, we document important differences in kinship systems in contemporaneous Early Copper Age communities using similar material culture and living only about 100 km apart.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2024

Long shared haplotypes identify the Southern Urals as a primary source for the 10th century Hungarians

During the Hungarian Conquest in the 10th century CE, the early medieval Magyars, a group of mounted warriors from Eastern Europe, settled in the Carpathian Basin. They likely introduced the Hungarian language to this new settlement area, during an event documented by both written sources and archaeological evidence. Previous archaeogenetic research identified the newcomers as migrants from the Eurasian steppe. However, genome-wide ancient DNA from putative source populations has not been available to test alternative theories of their precise source. We generated genome-wide ancient DNA data for 131 individuals from candidate archaeological contexts in the Circum-Uralic region in present-day Russia. Our results tightly link the Magyars to people of the Early Medieval Karayakupovo archaeological horizon on both the European and Asian sides of the southern Urals. Our analyes show that ancestors of the people of the Karayakupovo archaeological horizon were established in the Southern Urals by the Iron Age and that their descendants persisted locally in the Volga-Kama region until at least the 14th century.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2024

Ancient genomes reveal Avar-Hungarian transformations in the 9-10th centuries CE in the Carpathian Basin

During the Early Medieval period, the Carpathian Basin witnessed significant demographic shifts, notably under the Avar dominance for approximately 250 years, followed by the settlement of early Hungarians in the region during the late 9th century CE. This study presents the genetic analysis of 296 ancient samples, including 103 shotgun-sequenced genomes, from present-day Western Hungary. By employing identity-by-descent (IBD) segment sharing networks, this research offers detailed insights into the population structure and dynamics of the region from the 5th to the 11th centuries CE, with specific focus on certain microregions. Our evaluations reveal spatially different histories in Transdanubia even between communities in close geographical proximity, highlighting the importance of dense sampling and analyses. Our findings highlight extensive homogenisation and reorganization processes, discontinuities between Hun, Avar, and Conquest period immigrant groups, alongside the spread and integration of ancestry related to the Hungarian conquerors. TeaserGenetic formation of medieval Hungary, discontinuity between immigrant groups in the first millennium CE

genomics↗

bioRxiv2023

Genomic refugium of pre-domestication lineages in the Bronze Age Carpathian Basin

Horse domestication is a key element in history for its impact on human mobility and warfare. There is clear evidence for horse control from the beginning of the 2nd millennium BCE in the Carpathian Basin, when antler cheekpieces appear in the archaeological record mostly in the eastern areas. Previous archaeogenomic studies also revealed that the spread of the ancestors of modern day horses began at this time period, but the details of this event in Bronze Age Europe is yet to be uncovered. In this study we report a new shotgun genome ([~]0.9x coverage) of a Middle Bronze Age horse (radiocarbon dated to 1740-1630 cal. BCE) from Tompa site, southern Hungary, along with six mitochondrial genomes from various sites from Late Copper Age to Early Bronze Age Western Hungary. Our results reveal a strong bottleneck among pre-domestication Carpathian Basin horses and delayed DOM2 introduction into the region compared to the surrounding areas. The population size reduction was most probably due to human mediated loss of natural habitat, but the practice of horsekeeping after the turn of the 2nd millennium BCE can not be excluded based on the genomic data. Our results provide a complex history for horse domestication in the Central-European region, highlighting the need for further research to fully understand the extent and nature of human-horse interactions in this area throughout prehistory.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2022

High Coverage Mitogenomes and Y-Chromosomal Typing Reveal Ancient Lineages in the Modern-day Szekely Population in Romania

Here we present 115 whole mitogenomes and 92 Y-chromosomal STR and SNP profiles from a Hungarian ethnic group, the Szekelys (in Romanian: Secuii, in German: Sekler) living in southeast Transylvania (Romania). The Szekelys can be traced back to the 12th century in the region, and numerous scientific theories exist as to their origin. We carefully selected sample providers that had local ancestors inhabiting small villages in the area of Odorheiu Secuiesc/Szekelyudvarhely in Romania. The results of our research and the reported data signify a qualitative leap compared to previous studies, since complete mitochondrial DNA sequences and Y-chromosomal data containing 23 STRs have not been available from the region until now. We evaluated the results with population genetic and phylogenetic methods, in the context of the modern and ancient populations that are either geographically or historically related to the Szekelys. Our results demonstrate a predominantly local uniparental make-up of the population that also indicates limited admixture with neighbouring populations. Phylogenetic analyses confirmed the presumed eastern origin of certain maternal (A, C, D) and paternal (Q, R1a) lineages and, in some cases, they could also be linked to ancient DNA data from Migration Period (5th-9th centuries AD) and Hungarian Conquest Period (10th century AD) populations.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2022

Tracing genetic connections of ancient Hungarians to the 6-14th century populations of the Volga-Ural region

Most of the early Hungarian tribes originated from the Volga-Kama and South-Ural regions, where they were composed of a mixed population based on historical, philological, and archaeological data. We present here the uniparental genetic makeup of the medieval era of these regions that served as a melting pot for ethnic groups with different linguistic and historical backgrounds. Representing diverse cultural contexts, the new genetic data originates from ancient proto-Ob-Ugric people from Western Siberia (6th-13th century), the pre-Conquest period, and subsisting Hungarians from the Volga-Ural region (6th-14th century) and their neighbours. By examining the eastern archaeology traits of Hungarian prehistory, we also study their genetic composition and origin in an interdisciplinary framework. We analysed 110 deep-sequenced mitogenomes and 42 Y-chromosome haplotypes from 18 archaeological sites in Russia. The results support the studied groups genetic relationships regardless of geographical distances, suggesting large-scale mobility. We detected long-lasting genetic connections between the sites representing the Kushnarenkovo and Chiyalik cultures and the Carpathian Basin Hungarians and confirmed the Uralic transmission of several East-Eurasian uniparental lineages in their genepool. Based on phylogenetics, we demonstrate and model the connections and splits of the studied Volga-Ural and conqueror groups. Early Hungarians and their alliances conquered the Carpathian Basin around 890 AD. Re-analysis of the Hungarian conquerors maternal genepool reveals numerous surviving maternal relationships in both sexes; therefore, we conclude that men and women came to the Carpathian Basin together, and although they were subsequently genetically fused into the local population, certain eastern lineages survived for centuries.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2022

Interdisciplinary analyses of Bronze Age communities from Western Hungary reveal complex population histories

In this study we report 21 ancient shotgun genomes from present-day Western Hungary, from previously understudied Late Copper Age Baden, and Bronze Age Somogyvar-Vinkovci, Kisapostag, and Encrusted Pottery archaeological cultures (3530 - 1620 cal BCE). Our results indicate the presence of high steppe ancestry in the Somogyvar-Vinkovci culture. They were then replaced by the Kisapostag group, who exhibit an outstandingly high (up to [~]47%) Mesolithic hunter-gatherer ancestry, despite this component being thought to be highly diluted by the time of the Early Bronze Age. The Kisapostag population contributed the genetic basis for the succeeding community of the Encrusted pottery culture. We also found an elevated hunter-gatherer component in a local Baden culture associated individual, but no connections were proven to the Bronze Age individuals. The hunter-gatherer ancestry in Kisapostag is likely derived from two main sources, one from a Funnelbeaker or Globular Amphora culture related population and one from a previously unrecognised source in Eastern Europe. We show that this ancestry not only appeared in various groups in Bronze Age Central Europe, but also made contributions to Baltic populations. The social structure of Kisapostag and Encrusted pottery cultures is patrilocal, similarly to most contemporaneous groups. Furthermore, we developed new methods and method standards for computational analyses of ancient DNA, implemented to our newly developed and freely available bioinformatic package. By analysing clinical traits, we found carriers of aneuploidy and inheritable genetic diseases. Finally, based on genetic and anthropological data, we present here the first female facial reconstruction from the Bronze Age Carpathian Basin.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2020

Early Medieval Genetic Data from Ural Region Evaluated in the Light of Archaeological Evidence of Ancient Hungarians

The ancient Hungarians originated from the Ural region of Russia, and migrated through the Middle-Volga region and the Eastern European steppe into the Carpathian Basin during the 9th century AD. Their Homeland was probably in the southern Trans-Ural region, where the Kushnarenkovo culture disseminated. In the Cis-Ural region Lomovatovo and Nevolino cultures are archaeologically related to ancient Hungarians. In this study we describe maternal and paternal lineages of 36 individuals from these regions and nine Hungarian Conquest period individuals from todays Hungary, as well as shallow shotgun genome data from the Trans-Uralic Uyelgi cemetery. We point out the genetic continuity between the three chronological horizons of Uyelgi cemetery, which was a burial place of a rather endogamous population. Using phylogenetic and population genetic analyses we demonstrate the genetic connection between Trans-, Cis-Ural and the Carpathian Basin on various levels. The analyses of this new Uralic dataset fill a gap of population genetic research of Eurasia, and reshape the conclusions previously drawn from 10-11th century ancient mitogenomes and Y-chromosomes from Hungary.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2018

Inner Asian maternal genetic origin of the Avar period nomadic elite in the 7th century AD Carpathian Basin

After 568 AD the nomadic Avars settled in the Carpathian Basin and founded their empire, which was an important force in Central Europe until the beginning of the 9th century AD. The Avar elite was probably of Inner Asian origin; its identification with the Rourans (who ruled the region of todays Mongolia and North China in the 4th-6th centuries AD) is widely accepted in the historical research.\n\nHere, we study the whole mitochondrial genomes of twenty-three 7th century and two 8th century AD individuals from a well-characterised Avar elite group of burials excavated in Hungary. Most of them were buried with high value prestige artefacts and their skulls showed Mongoloid morphological traits.\n\nThe majority (64%) of the studied samples mitochondrial DNA variability belongs to Asian haplogroups (C, D, F, M, R, Y and Z). This Avar elite group shows affinities to several ancient and modern Inner Asian populations.\n\nThe genetic results verify the historical thesis on the Inner Asian origin of the Avar elite, as not only a military retinue consisting of armed men, but an endogamous group of families migrated. This correlates well with records on historical nomadic societies where maternal lineages were as important as paternal descent.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2017

The Genomic History Of Southeastern Europe

Farming was first introduced to southeastern Europe in the mid-7th millennium BCE - brought by migrants from Anatolia who settled in the region before spreading throughout Europe. To clarify the dynamics of the interaction between the first farmers and indigenous hunter-gatherers where they first met, we analyze genome-wide ancient DNA data from 223 individuals who lived in southeastern Europe and surrounding regions between 12,000 and 500 BCE. We document previously uncharacterized genetic structure, showing a West-East cline of ancestry in hunter-gatherers, and show that some Aegean farmers had ancestry from a different lineage than the northwestern Anatolian lineage that formed the overwhelming ancestry of other European farmers. We show that the first farmers of northern and western Europe passed through southeastern Europe with limited admixture with local hunter-gatherers, but that some groups mixed extensively, with relatively sex-balanced admixture compared to the male-biased hunter-gatherer admixture that prevailed later in the North and West. Southeastern Europe continued to be a nexus between East and West after farming arrived, with intermittent genetic contact from the Steppe up to 2,000 years before the migration that replaced much of northern Europes population.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2017

The Beaker Phenomenon And The Genomic Transformation Of Northwest Europe

Bell Beaker pottery spread across western and central Europe beginning around 2750 BCE before disappearing between 2200-1800 BCE. The mechanism of its expansion is a topic of long-standing debate, with support for both cultural diffusion and human migration. We present new genome-wide ancient DNA data from 170 Neolithic, Copper Age and Bronze Age Europeans, including 100 Beaker-associated individuals. In contrast to the Corded Ware Complex, which has previously been identified as arriving in central Europe following migration from the east, we observe limited genetic affinity between Iberian and central European Beaker Complex-associated individuals, and thus exclude migration as a significant mechanism of spread between these two regions. However, human migration did have an important role in the further dissemination of the Beaker Complex, which we document most clearly in Britain using data from 80 newly reported individuals dating to 3900-1200 BCE. British Neolithic farmers were genetically similar to contemporary populations in continental Europe and in particular to Neolithic Iberians, suggesting that a portion of the farmer ancestry in Britain came from the Mediterranean rather than the Danubian route of farming expansion. Beginning with the Beaker period, and continuing through the Bronze Age, all British individuals harboured high proportions of Steppe ancestry and were genetically closely related to Beaker-associated individuals from the Lower Rhine area. We use these observations to show that the spread of the Beaker Complex to Britain was mediated by migration from the continent that replaced >90% of Britains Neolithic gene pool within a few hundred years, continuing the process that brought Steppe ancestry into central and northern Europe 400 years earlier.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2017

Parallel ancient genomic transects reveal complex population history of early European farmers

Ancient DNA studies have established that European Neolithic populations were descended from Anatolian migrants who received a limited amount of admixture from resident hunter-gatherers. Many open questions remain, however, about the spatial and temporal dynamics of population interactions and admixture during the Neolithic period. Using the highest-resolution genome-wide ancient DNA data set assembled to date--a total of 177 samples, 127 newly reported here, from the Neolithic and Chalcolithic of Hungary (6000-2900 BCE, n = 98), Germany (5500-3000 BCE, n = 42), and Spain (5500-2200 BCE, n = 37)--we investigate the population dynamics of Neolithization across Europe. We find that genetic diversity was shaped predominantly by local processes, with varied sources and proportions of hunter-gatherer ances try among the three regions and through time. Admixture between groups with different ancestry profiles was pervasive and resulted in observable population transformation across almost all cultural transitions. Our results shed new light on the ways that gene flow reshaped European populations throughout the Neolithic period and demonstrate the potential of time-series-based sampling and modeling approaches to elucidate multiple dimensions of historical population interactions.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2017

The maternal genetic make-up of the Iberian Peninsula between the Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age

Agriculture first reached the Iberian Peninsula around 5700 BCE. However, little is known about the genetic structure and changes of prehistoric populations in different geographic areas of Iberia. In our study, we focused on the maternal genetic makeup of the Neolithic ([~] 5500-3000 BCE), Chalcolithic ([~] 3000-2200 BCE) and Early Bronze Age ([~] 2200-1500 BCE). We report ancient mitochondrial DNA results of 213 individuals (151 HVS-I sequences) from the northeast, central, southeast and southwest regions and thus on the largest archaeogenetic dataset from the Peninsula to date. Similar to other parts of Europe, we observe a discontinuity between hunter-gatherers and the first farmers of the Neolithic. During the subsequent periods, we detect regional continuity of Early Neolithic lineages across Iberia, however the genetic contribution of hunter-gatherers is generally higher than in other parts of Europe and varies regionally. In contrast to ancient DNA findings from Central Europe, we do not observe a major turnover in the mtDNA record of the Iberian Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age, suggesting that the population history of the Iberian Peninsula is distinct in character.

genetics↗