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

Szeifert, B.; Gerber, D.; Csaky, V.; Lango, P.; Stashenkov, D. A.; Khokhlov, A. A.; Sitdikov, A. G.; Gazimzyanov, I. R.; Volkova, E. V.; Matveeva, N. P.; Zelenkov, A. S.; Poshekhonova, O. E.; Sleptsova, A. V.; Karacharov, K. G.; Ilyushina, V. V.; Konikov, B. A.; Sungatov, F. A.; Kolonskikh, A. G.; Botalov, S. G.; Grudochko, I. V.; Egyed, B.; Mende, B. G.; Turk, A.; Szecsenyi-Nagy, A.

doi:10.1101/2022.02.04.478947

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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2022.02.04.478947

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

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Abstract

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.

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Szeifert, B., Gerber, D., Csaky, V., Lango, P., Stashenkov, D. A., Khokhlov, A. A., Sitdikov, A. G., Gazimzyanov, I. R., Volkova, E. V., Matveeva, N. P., Zelenkov, A. S., Poshekhonova, O. E., Sleptsova, A. V., Karacharov, K. G., Ilyushina, V. V., Konikov, B. A., Sungatov, F. A., Kolonskikh, A. G., Botalov, S. G., Grudochko, I. V., Egyed, B., Mende, B. G., Turk, A., Szecsenyi-Nagy, A.. 2022-02-08. Tracing genetic connections of ancient Hungarians to the 6-14th century populations of the Volga-Ural region. https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.02.04.478947

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