Author
Anna Szécsényi-Nagy
Other affiliations: University of Mainz
Bio: Anna Szécsényi-Nagy is an academic researcher from Hungarian Academy of Sciences. The author has contributed to research in topics: Population & Bronze Age. The author has an hindex of 18, co-authored 34 publications receiving 2886 citations. Previous affiliations of Anna Szécsényi-Nagy include University of Mainz.
Topics: Population, Bronze Age, Ancient DNA, Chalcolithic, Eastern european
Papers
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University of Adelaide1, Harvard University2, Broad Institute3, Howard Hughes Medical Institute4, University of Mainz5, Max Planck Society6, University of Tübingen7, Hungarian Academy of Sciences8, Stockholm University9, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras10, The Heritage Foundation11, University of Basel12, Autonomous University of Barcelona13, University of Valladolid14, Hartwick College15
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors generated genome-wide data from 69 Europeans who lived between 8,000-3,000 years ago by enriching ancient DNA libraries for a target set of almost 400,000 polymorphisms.
Abstract: We generated genome-wide data from 69 Europeans who lived between 8,000-3,000 years ago by enriching ancient DNA libraries for a target set of almost 400,000 polymorphisms. Enrichment of these positions decreases the sequencing required for genome-wide ancient DNA analysis by a median of around 250-fold, allowing us to study an order of magnitude more individuals than previous studies and to obtain new insights about the past. We show that the populations of Western and Far Eastern Europe followed opposite trajectories between 8,000-5,000 years ago. At the beginning of the Neolithic period in Europe, ∼8,000-7,000 years ago, closely related groups of early farmers appeared in Germany, Hungary and Spain, different from indigenous hunter-gatherers, whereas Russia was inhabited by a distinctive population of hunter-gatherers with high affinity to a ∼24,000-year-old Siberian. By ∼6,000-5,000 years ago, farmers throughout much of Europe had more hunter-gatherer ancestry than their predecessors, but in Russia, the Yamnaya steppe herders of this time were descended not only from the preceding eastern European hunter-gatherers, but also from a population of Near Eastern ancestry. Western and Eastern Europe came into contact ∼4,500 years ago, as the Late Neolithic Corded Ware people from Germany traced ∼75% of their ancestry to the Yamnaya, documenting a massive migration into the heartland of Europe from its eastern periphery. This steppe ancestry persisted in all sampled central Europeans until at least ∼3,000 years ago, and is ubiquitous in present-day Europeans. These results provide support for a steppe origin of at least some of the Indo-European languages of Europe.
1,332 citations
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TL;DR: Genome-wide data from 400 Neolithic, Copper Age and Bronze Age Europeans is presented, finding limited genetic affinity between Beaker-complex-associated individuals from Iberia and central Europe, and excludes migration as an important mechanism of spread between these two regions.
Abstract: From around 2750 to 2500 bc, Bell Beaker pottery became widespread across western and central Europe, before it disappeared between 2200 and 1800 bc. The forces that propelled its expansion are a matter of long-standing debate, and there is support for both cultural diffusion and migration having a role in this process. Here we present genome-wide data from 400 Neolithic, Copper Age and Bronze Age Europeans, including 226 individuals associated with Beaker-complex artefacts. We detected limited genetic affinity between Beaker-complex-associated individuals from Iberia and central Europe, and thus exclude migration as an important mechanism of spread between these two regions. However, migration had a key role in the further dissemination of the Beaker complex. We document this phenomenon most clearly in Britain, where the spread of the Beaker complex introduced high levels of steppe-related ancestry and was associated with the replacement of approximately 90% of Britain's gene pool within a few hundred years, continuing the east-to-west expansion that had brought steppe-related ancestry into central and northern Europe over the previous centuries.
479 citations
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Harvard University1, University of Tübingen2, Max Planck Society3, Hungarian Academy of Sciences4, Howard Hughes Medical Institute5, University College Dublin6, University of Vienna7, University of Coimbra8, University of Ferrara9, University of Adelaide10, Trinity College, Dublin11, University of Cambridge12, Broad Institute13, Emory University14, University of Florence15, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences16, Danube Private University17, Romanian Academy18, Centre national de la recherche scientifique19, Eötvös Loránd University20, Sofia University21, University of Oxford22, University of Wyoming23, University of Zagreb24, Pennsylvania State University25, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine26, Université de Montréal27, University of Bucharest28, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich29, University of Edinburgh30, University of Wisconsin-Madison31, University of Palermo32, Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts33, Naturhistorisches Museum34, Russian Academy of Sciences35, University of Toronto36, University of Latvia37, Durham University38, University of Hull39, Grand Valley State University40, Columbia University41
TL;DR: It is shown that southeastern Europe continued to be a nexus between east and west after the arrival of farmers, with intermittent genetic contact with steppe populations occurring up to 2,000 years earlier than the migrations from the steppe that ultimately replaced much of the population of northern Europe.
Abstract: Farming was first introduced to Europe in the mid-seventh millennium bc, and was associated with migrants from Anatolia who settled in the southeast before spreading throughout Europe. Here, to und ...
447 citations
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Harvard University1, Hungarian Academy of Sciences2, Broad Institute3, University of Mainz4, Howard Hughes Medical Institute5, University of Adelaide6, Eötvös Loránd University7, Hungarian National Museum8, University of Pécs9, University of the Basque Country10, Free University of Berlin11, Deutsches Archäologisches Institut12, Danube Private University13, University of Basel14, Spanish National Research Council15, Max Planck Society16
TL;DR: Investigating the population dynamics of Neolithization across Europe using a high-resolution genome-wide ancient DNA dataset with a total of 180 samples finds that genetic diversity was shaped predominantly by local processes, with varied sources and proportions of hunter-gatherer ancestry among the three regions and through time.
Abstract: In European Neolithic populations, the arrival of farmers prompted admixture with local hunter-gatherers over many centuries, resulting in distinct signatures in each region due to a complex series of interactions. David Reich and colleagues analyse genome-wide data from 180 individuals from the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods of Hungary, Germany and Spain to study the population dynamics of Neolithization in European prehistory. They examine how gene flow reshaped European populations during the Neolithic period, including pervasive admixture—the interbreeding between previously isolated populations—between groups with different ancestry profiles. In each region, they find that the arrival of farmers prompted admixture with local hunter-gatherers, over the course of 3,000 years. Ancient DNA studies have established that Neolithic European populations were descended from Anatolian migrants1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 who received a limited amount of admixture from resident hunter-gatherers3,4,5,9. Many open questions remain, however, about the spatial and temporal dynamics of population interactions and admixture during the Neolithic period. Here we investigate the population dynamics of Neolithization across Europe using a high-resolution genome-wide ancient DNA dataset with a total of 180 samples, of which 130 are newly reported here, from the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods of Hungary (6000–2900 bc, n = 100), Germany (5500–3000 bc, n = 42) and Spain (5500–2200 bc, n = 38). We find that genetic diversity was shaped predominantly by local processes, with varied sources and proportions of hunter-gatherer ancestry among the three regions and through time. Admixture between groups with different ancestry profiles was pervasive and resulted in observable population transformation across almost all cultural transitions. Our results shed new light on the ways in which gene flow reshaped European populations throughout the Neolithic period and demonstrate the potential of time-series-based sampling and modelling approaches to elucidate multiple dimensions of historical population interactions.
278 citations
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TL;DR: The processes that shaped modern European mtDNA variation remain unclear as mentioned in this paper, and the initial peopling by Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers and the immigration of Neolithic farmers into Europe ~8000 years ago appear to have played important roles but do not explain present-day mtDNA diversity.
Abstract: The processes that shaped modern European mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation remain unclear. The initial peopling by Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers ~42,000 years ago and the immigration of Neolithic farmers into Europe ~8000 years ago appear to have played important roles but do not explain present-day mtDNA diversity. We generated mtDNA profiles of 364 individuals from prehistoric cultures in Central Europe to perform a chronological study, spanning the Early Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age (5500 to 1550 calibrated years before the common era). We used this transect through time to identify four marked shifts in genetic composition during the Neolithic period, revealing a key role for Late Neolithic cultures in shaping modern Central European genetic diversity.
252 citations
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01 Jan 1980
TL;DR: In this article, the influence of diet on the distribution of nitrogen isotopes in animals was investigated by analyzing animals grown in the laboratory on diets of constant nitrogen isotopic composition and found that the variability of the relationship between the δ^(15)N values of animals and their diets is greater for different individuals raised on the same diet than for the same species raised on different diets.
Abstract: The influence of diet on the distribution of nitrogen isotopes in animals was investigated by analyzing animals grown in the laboratory on diets of constant nitrogen isotopic composition.
The isotopic composition of the nitrogen in an animal reflects the nitrogen isotopic composition of its diet. The δ^(15)N values of the whole bodies of animals are usually more positive than those of their diets. Different individuals of a species raised on the same diet can have significantly different δ^(15)N values. The variability of the relationship between the δ^(15)N values of animals and their diets is greater for different species raised on the same diet than for the same species raised on different diets. Different tissues of mice are also enriched in ^(15)N relative to the diet, with the difference between the δ^(15)N values of a tissue and the diet depending on both the kind of tissue and the diet involved. The δ^(15)N values of collagen and chitin, biochemical components that are often preserved in fossil animal remains, are also related to the δ^(15)N value of the diet.
The dependence of the δ^(15)N values of whole animals and their tissues and biochemical components on the δ^(15)N value of diet indicates that the isotopic composition of animal nitrogen can be used to obtain information about an animal's diet if its potential food sources had different δ^(15)N values. The nitrogen isotopic method of dietary analysis probably can be used to estimate the relative use of legumes vs non-legumes or of aquatic vs terrestrial organisms as food sources for extant and fossil animals. However, the method probably will not be applicable in those modern ecosystems in which the use of chemical fertilizers has influenced the distribution of nitrogen isotopes in food sources.
The isotopic method of dietary analysis was used to reconstruct changes in the diet of the human population that occupied the Tehuacan Valley of Mexico over a 7000 yr span. Variations in the δ^(15)C and δ^(15)N values of bone collagen suggest that C_4 and/or CAM plants (presumably mostly corn) and legumes (presumably mostly beans) were introduced into the diet much earlier than suggested by conventional archaeological analysis.
5,548 citations
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TL;DR: Some of the key events in the peopling of the world in the light of the findings of work on ancient DNA are reviewed.
Abstract: Ancient DNA research is revealing a human history far more complex than that inferred from parsimonious models based on modern DNA. Here, we review some of the key events in the peopling of the world in the light of the findings of work on ancient DNA.
1,365 citations
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University of Adelaide1, Harvard University2, Broad Institute3, Howard Hughes Medical Institute4, University of Mainz5, Max Planck Society6, University of Tübingen7, Hungarian Academy of Sciences8, Stockholm University9, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras10, The Heritage Foundation11, University of Basel12, Autonomous University of Barcelona13, University of Valladolid14, Hartwick College15
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors generated genome-wide data from 69 Europeans who lived between 8,000-3,000 years ago by enriching ancient DNA libraries for a target set of almost 400,000 polymorphisms.
Abstract: We generated genome-wide data from 69 Europeans who lived between 8,000-3,000 years ago by enriching ancient DNA libraries for a target set of almost 400,000 polymorphisms. Enrichment of these positions decreases the sequencing required for genome-wide ancient DNA analysis by a median of around 250-fold, allowing us to study an order of magnitude more individuals than previous studies and to obtain new insights about the past. We show that the populations of Western and Far Eastern Europe followed opposite trajectories between 8,000-5,000 years ago. At the beginning of the Neolithic period in Europe, ∼8,000-7,000 years ago, closely related groups of early farmers appeared in Germany, Hungary and Spain, different from indigenous hunter-gatherers, whereas Russia was inhabited by a distinctive population of hunter-gatherers with high affinity to a ∼24,000-year-old Siberian. By ∼6,000-5,000 years ago, farmers throughout much of Europe had more hunter-gatherer ancestry than their predecessors, but in Russia, the Yamnaya steppe herders of this time were descended not only from the preceding eastern European hunter-gatherers, but also from a population of Near Eastern ancestry. Western and Eastern Europe came into contact ∼4,500 years ago, as the Late Neolithic Corded Ware people from Germany traced ∼75% of their ancestry to the Yamnaya, documenting a massive migration into the heartland of Europe from its eastern periphery. This steppe ancestry persisted in all sampled central Europeans until at least ∼3,000 years ago, and is ubiquitous in present-day Europeans. These results provide support for a steppe origin of at least some of the Indo-European languages of Europe.
1,332 citations
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University of Copenhagen1, University of Gothenburg2, Technical University of Denmark3, Leiden University4, Lund University5, University of Oxford6, University of Wrocław7, University of Zurich8, Wrocław Medical University9, University of Toronto10, Gorno-Altaisk State University11, South Ural State University12, Polish Academy of Sciences13, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich14, Eötvös Loránd University15, Hungarian Natural History Museum16, Hungarian Academy of Sciences17, Masaryk University18, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic19, University of Tartu20, Yerevan State University21, Hungarian National Museum22, University of Szeged23, University of Wisconsin-Madison24, Russian Academy of Sciences25, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague26, Armenian National Academy of Sciences27, Moscow State University28, University of California, Berkeley29
TL;DR: It is shown that the Bronze Age was a highly dynamic period involving large-scale population migrations and replacements, responsible for shaping major parts of present-day demographic structure in both Europe and Asia.
Abstract: The Bronze Age of Eurasia (around 3000-1000 BC) was a period of major cultural changes. However, there is debate about whether these changes resulted from the circulation of ideas or from human migrations, potentially also facilitating the spread of languages and certain phenotypic traits. We investigated this by using new, improved methods to sequence low-coverage genomes from 101 ancient humans from across Eurasia. We show that the Bronze Age was a highly dynamic period involving large-scale population migrations and replacements, responsible for shaping major parts of present-day demographic structure in both Europe and Asia. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesized spread of Indo-European languages during the Early Bronze Age. We also demonstrate that light skin pigmentation in Europeans was already present at high frequency in the Bronze Age, but not lactose tolerance, indicating a more recent onset of positive selection on lactose tolerance than previously thought.
1,088 citations
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Harvard University1, Broad Institute2, Howard Hughes Medical Institute3, University College Dublin4, Emory University5, Trinity College, Dublin6, University of Copenhagen7, University of Adelaide8, Russian Academy of Sciences9, Complutense University of Madrid10, Rovira i Virgili University11, University of Valladolid12, Max Planck Society13, University of Tübingen14, Danube Private University15, University of Basel16, Hartwick College17, Pompeu Fabra University18
TL;DR: A genome-wide scan for selection using ancient DNA is reported, capitalizing on the largest ancient DNA data set yet assembled: 230 West Eurasians who lived between 6500 and 300 bc, including 163 with newly reported data.
Abstract: Ancient DNA makes it possible to observe natural selection directly by analysing samples from populations before, during and after adaptation events. Here we report a genome-wide scan for selection using ancient DNA, capitalizing on the largest ancient DNA data set yet assembled: 230 West Eurasians who lived between 6500 and 300 bc, including 163 with newly reported data. The new samples include, to our knowledge, the first genome-wide ancient DNA from Anatolian Neolithic farmers, whose genetic material we obtained by extracting from petrous bones, and who we show were members of the population that was the source of Europe's first farmers. We also report a transect of the steppe region in Samara between 5600 and 300 bc, which allows us to identify admixture into the steppe from at least two external sources. We detect selection at loci associated with diet, pigmentation and immunity, and two independent episodes of selection on height.
1,083 citations