The genetic origin of Huns, Avars, and conquering Hungarians.

Huns, Avars, and conquering Hungarians were migration-period nomadic tribal confederations that arrived in three successive waves in the Carpathian Basin between the 5th and 9th centuries. Based on the historical data, each of these groups are thought to have arrived from Asia, although their exact origin and relation to other ancient and modern populations have been debated. Recently, hundreds of ancient genomes were analyzed from Central Asia, Mongolia, and China, from which we aimed to identify putative source populations for the above-mentioned groups. In this study, we have sequenced 9 Hun, 143 Avar, and 113 Hungarian conquest period samples and identified three core populations, representing immigrants from each period with no recent European ancestry. Our results reveal that this "immigrant core" of both Huns and Avars likely originated in present day Mongolia, and their origin can be traced back to Xiongnus (Asian Huns), as suggested by several historians. On the other hand, the "immigrant core" of the conquering Hungarians derived from an earlier admixture of Mansis, early Sarmatians, and descendants of late Xiongnus. We have also shown that a common "proto-Ugric" gene pool appeared in the Bronze Age from the admixture of Mezhovskaya and Nganasan people, supporting genetic and linguistic data. In addition, we detected shared Hun-related ancestry in numerous Avar and Hungarian conquest period genetic outliers, indicating a genetic link between these successive nomadic groups. Aside from the immigrant core groups, we identified that the majority of the individuals from each period were local residents harboring "native European" ancestry.

Hyperostosis frontalis interna in ancient populations from the Carpathian Basin - A possible relationship between lifestyle and risk of development.

OBJECTIVE: The prevalence of hyperostosis frontalis interna (HFI) was examined in different periods of the Carpathian Basin from 4900 BCE to 17th century AD. The study seeks to evaluate temporal changes in HFI and the possible impact of lifestyle on it. MATERIALS: The studied material consisted of 4668 crania from Hungary and Serbia. METHODS: The crania were analyzed employing macroscopic and endoscopic examination. RESULTS: In historic periods, sex and age played a pivotal role in HFI development. Among predominantly pastoralist populations of the 5th-8th and 10th centuries, prevalence of HFI was considerably higher than in the medieval populations of the 9th-17th centuries. CONCLUSIONS: In addition to age and sex, other factors could be implicated in HFI development. The physiological effects of the pastoralist lifestyle and diet on insulin regulation could explain the increased risk of developing HFI in the 5th-8th and 10th-century populations. SIGNIFICANCE: The study provides the first comprehensive dataset of HFI from different archaeological periods from the Carpathian Basin. It has implications for lifestyle and risk of HFI development in past populations. LIMITATIONS: The archaeological periods are not equally represented. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: In order to better understand the etiology of HFI, lifestyle factors can be used to elucidate the risk of developing HFI in ancient populations.

A minimally-invasive method for sampling human petrous bones from the cranial base for ancient DNA analysis.

Ancient DNA (aDNA) research involves invasive and destructive sampling procedures that are often incompatible with anthropological, anatomical, and bioarcheological analyses requiring intact skeletal remains. The osseous labyrinth inside the petrous bone has been shown to yield higher amounts of endogenous DNA than any other skeletal element; however, accessing this labyrinth in cases of a complete or reconstructed skull involves causing major structural damage to the cranial vault or base. Here, we describe a novel cranial base drilling method (CBDM) for accessing the osseous labyrinth from the cranial base that prevents damaging the surrounding cranial features, making it highly complementary to morphological analyses. We assessed this method by comparing the aDNA results from one petrous bone processed using our novel method to its pair, which was processed using established protocols for sampling disarticulated petrous bones. We show a decrease in endogenous DNA and molecular copy numbers when the drilling method is used; however, we also show that this method produces more endogenous DNA and higher copy numbers than any postcranial bone. Our results demonstrate that this minimally-invasive method reduces the loss of genetic data associated with the use of other skeletal elements and enables the combined craniometric and genetic study of individuals with archeological, cultural, and evolutionary value.