Exciting Discoveries from Ancient Genomes in South Moravia

Exciting Discoveries from Ancient Genomes in South Moravia

The unearthing of ancient genomes has opened a remarkable window into the past, casting new light on early European history. One of the most compelling chapters in this unfolding story comes from South Moravia, a region of exceptional archaeological significance. Over the centuries, various peoples left their mark here, creating a complex record of cultural evolution and demographic change.

Archaeological Sites: Windows into the Past

Our story begins at two significant burial sites in this historic landscape: Líbivá and Pohansko. These sites, dating from around the fifth to the tenth century CE, preserve evidence of lives and transitions from the period when South Moravia emerged as a hub of Slavic culture. Archaeologists recovered 18 individual genomes from these sites, directly linking them to a culture associated with the early Slavs.

Líbivá revealed inhumations primarily linked to the fifth century, with evidence of a diverse and multicultural population during the Migration Period. The site included pits, sunken houses, and settlement graves, painting a picture of a society in flux. Pohansko, by contrast, stood out as a fortified settlement of strategic importance in Moravian affairs. Inhabited since the sixth century, it served as a crucial stronghold of the emerging Slavic realm.

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Remarkable Genetic Discoveries

Among the most significant findings is the earliest known inhumation associated with early Slavic culture. Sample PJP010, a newborn child found at Pohansko, dates between the seventh and eighth century CE. This burial within a strategically vital fortified settlement offers rare material evidence of Slavic presence during a transformative period and sheds light on the social world of the time.

Through low-depth whole-genome sequencing, researchers detected a dramatic genetic shift in South Moravia between the fifth and seventh centuries CE. The fifth-century Migration Period individuals displayed exceptional genetic diversity, with affinities ranging from Mediterranean to Scandinavian. This contrasts sharply with the more homogeneous Early Medieval samples, which cluster more closely with present-day Eastern European populations, particularly Poles and Ukrainians.

Cultural Artifacts and Genetic Evidence

The integration of cultural artifacts played a crucial role in connecting these individuals to broader Slavic-speaking migrations. Prague-type pottery, long treated as a key cultural marker of early Slavs, appeared alongside other grave goods ranging from household items to indicators of status and trade. These remains provide tangible evidence of the exchanges and cultural transmissions in which these ancient communities took part.

The association between Prague-Korchak pottery and the genetic findings highlights a period of movement and interaction. Although cremation was the dominant funerary rite of the era, the archaeological layers in Moravia still preserve a vivid record of these past societies and their complex relationships.

Demographic Transformation and Population Movement

The genomic evidence suggests that the spread of Slavic culture and language in this region was closely tied to the movement of people across Europe, rather than representing only the cultural assimilation of local populations. This challenges earlier interpretations that emphasized gradual integration and instead points to substantial demographic change driven by migration.

The data shows a marked break between the fifth and seventh centuries, arguing against simple local continuity. In Moravia, the expansion of Slavic-associated groups appears to have involved newcomers whose genetic profile differed from that of many earlier inhabitants.

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Historical Context and Strategic Importance

Pohansko was more than a settlement. It functioned as a strategic nucleus of the Moravian Slavic principality and a center where different cultural influences met. Its fortified character points to the importance of trade, defense, and political organization in shaping early medieval society. Set alongside the genomic evidence, the archaeology gives us a fuller picture of these cultural transitions.

Notable individuals such as LIB7 and LIB11, dated to the seventh and eighth centuries, stand out as important examples associated with the Prague-Korchak culture. Their genetic profiles show affinities with modern North-Western and Eastern European populations, including Polish and Lithuanian groups, helping to clarify the genetic landscape of the early Moravian Slavs.

Ancient genomes provide evidence of demographic shift to Slavic-associated groups in Moravia - Genome Biology

Background The Slavs are a major ethnolinguistic group of Europe, yet the process that led to their formation remains disputed. As of the sixth century CE, people supposedly belonging to the Slavs populated the space between the Avar Khaganate in the Carpathian Basin, the Merovingian Frankish Empire to the West and the Balkan Peninsula to the South. Proposed theories to explain those events are, however, conceptually incompatible, as some invoke major population movements while others stress the continuity of local populations. Results We report high-quality genomic data of 18 individuals from two nearby burial sites in South Moravia that span from the fifth to the tenth century CE, during which the region became the core of the ninth century Slavic principality. In contrast to existing data, the individuals reported here can be directly connected to an Early-Slavic-associated culture and include the earliest known inhumation associated with any such culture. Conclusions The data indicates a strong genetic shift incompatible with local continuity between the fifth and seventh century, supporting the notion that the Slavic expansion in South Moravia was driven by population movement.

BioMed CentralIlektra Schulz

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