Date published:

The publication by our scientists appeared in Science Communication

Population studies and kinship studies of Bronze Age communities (2300/2200-1200 BC) from Central and Eastern Europe were conducted jointly by geneticists from Poland and Sweden and archaeologists from Poland and Ukraine. The result of the researchers' efforts is the article "Patrilocality and hunter-gatherer-related ancestry of populations in East-Central Europe during the Middle Bronze Age", recently published in Nature Communications.

The researchers observed a demographic shift as a result of the migration of communities (mainly men) of the so-called Forest Subneolithic from north-eastern Europe, subsequently associating with Early Bronze Age populations settling in central and eastern Europe, genetically related to steppe ancestors from the Black Sea-Caspian region and descendants of Neolithic farmers.

The publication follows the NCN multidisciplinary project No. 2015/17/B/HS3/00114 on 'Migration and kinship in East-Central Europe in the first half of the 2nd millennium BC', led by Prof. Przemysław Makarowicz from the Faculty of Archaeology.

"Analysis of 91 nuclear genomes from the territories of present-day Poland and Ukraine revealed the presence of an increased number of genetic components representing hunter-gatherer populations and a radical change in the frequency of certain Y-DNA haplogroups," says Dr Maciej Chyleński of the Fossil DNA Laboratory of the Institute of Human Biology and Evolution, Faculty of Biology.

"In the mass graves, which are characteristic for representatives of the so-called Canean cultural circle, we have documented examples of the deceased closely related mainly in the male line," adds Prof. Przemysław Makarowicz of the Faculty of Archaeology.

"The research also indicates patrilocal social organisation in this period, i.e. the residence of new families together with the male family," adds Dr Anna Juras from the Fossil DNA Laboratory of the Institute of Human Biology and Evolution of the Faculty of Biology.

Notably, the article by our scientists is the first publication in Nature Communications presenting prehistoric Bronze Age genomes from this part of the European continent. What is important is that it is the Polish scientists from AMU, consisting of Maciej Chyleński, PhD, Prof Przemysław Makarowicz and Anna Jura, PhD, who are the three first authors of the article. In addition to them, the co-authors from AMU are Prof. Marcin Ignaczak, Prof. Aleksander Kośko, Jan Romaniszyn, PhD, Prof. Marzena Szmyt (Faculty of Archaeology), and Prof. Mirosława Dabert and Agnieszka Breszka (Faculty of Biology).
We warmly congratulate our scientists and wish them further success. And, as always, we encourage the curious of the world to read the article.

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