The Avars were more successful than the Huns. They ruled much of Central and Eastern Europe for more than 200 years. They came from Central Asia in the sixth centuryCE, but ancient authors and modern historians have debated their provenance.
The first ancient genomes from the most important Avar elite sites discovered in contemporary Hungary were obtained and studied by a team of geneticists, archeologists and historians. The Avar elite's genetic origin is traced to a region of East Central Asia. One of the largest and most rapid long-distance migrations in ancient human history was provided with direct genetic evidence.
The empire of the Avars lasted more than 200 years and was centered in the Carpathian Basin. Their initial homeland and origin has remained unclear despite much scholarly debate. The Byzantines wondered about the origin of the fearsome Avar warriors after they appeared in Europe. The Rouran empire was destroyed by the Turks, so should one believe them or not?
Historians wondered if that was a migrant group or a group of fugitives. The lunula-shaped pectoral of gold used as a symbol of power is one of the many parallels between the Carpathian Basin and the Eurasian nomadic artifacts. The stirrup was introduced in Europe. We haven't been able to find out their origin in the wide Eurasian steppes.
The team includes researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, the ELTE University, the Austrian Academy of Sciences, and the Harvard Medical School. The eight richest Avar graves ever discovered, overflowing with golden objects, as well as other individuals from the region prior to and during the Avar age, were included in the study.
We address a question that has been a mystery for more than 1400 years: who were the Avar elites, mysterious founders of an empire that almost crushed Constantinople and ruled the lands of modern-day Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Austria, Croatia and Serbia?
Human history has seen the fastest long-distance migration.
The first genome-wide data provided clues about the origins of the Avar, as they did not leave written records about their history. They lived in Hungary for ten more years after covering more than 5000 kilometers in a few years. This is the fastest long-distance migration in human history that we can reconstruct up to this point, according to Choongwon Jeong, co-senior author of the study.
The 7th-century Avar period elites show 20 to 30 years of age, according to the lead author of the study.
The East Asian ancestry can be found in individuals from several sites in the core settlement area between the Danube and Tisza rivers. In the south-Hungarian site of Kölked, we find high variability in inter-individual levels of admixture. This suggests that an immigrant elite ruled a diverse population with the help of a local elite.
The results show how much potential there is in the collaboration between geneticists, archeologists, historians and anthropologists.
Cell published the research.
More information: Johannes Krause, Ancient genomes reveal origin and rapid trans-Eurasian migration of 7th Century Avar elites, Cell (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2022.03.007. www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(22)00267-7 Journal information: Cell Citation: Origins of the Avars elucidated with ancient DNA (2022, April 1) retrieved 1 April 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-04-avars-elucidated-ancient-dna.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
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