Post by Διαμονδ on Sept 6, 2018 12:24:21 GMT
Sweden emigrant-DNA of ancient population Sigtuna!
Eight of the 16 inhabitants of the Swedish city of Sigtuna, who lived in the Viking age and whose remains were analyzed by researchers, turned out to be visitors, according to Current Biology. Some of them were" near " migrants and came from other regions of Scandinavia, while the rest grew on the territory of modern Lithuania, Ukraine, North Russia and the British Isles. Two people were immigrants in the second generation.
The Vikings called the period from VIII to XI century, when the inhabitants of Scandinavia had established trade relations with other European States, and often conquered and plundered them; colonized Iceland and Greenland and reached North America. At this time in Scandinavia there were cities, some of which exist today. The oldest of them was the city of Sigtuna, which is located on the shore of lake Malaren, associated with the Baltic sea, and is now part of the Stockholm conglomeration. Presumably, the city was founded in the late X century and for 250 years was one of the most important political, commercial and religious centers. The city was the Royal residence and here about 990-ies began to mint the first Swedish coin. At the end of the XII century the city was plundered by Baltic pirates, who probably appeared from the territory of modern Karelia, Latvia and Estonia. However, life in the city did not stop. Sigtuna lost its importance in the XIII century, when as a result of the post-glacial rise of land shipping routes to the city became shallow.
During the heyday of the city there were several Christian cemeteries. They were an important find not only for archaeologists, but also for geneticists. Unlike Christians, pagan Vikings often burned their dead, so it was impossible to extract DNA from their remains. In the Christian cemetery, the remains of whose DNA it was possible to isolate and analyze. Researchers led by Anna Kjellström from Stockholm University decided to try to understand how mobile the inhabitants of Sigtuna were. The fact that the inhabitants of Scandinavia in the middle ages traveled to Europe, scientists were well known, but many Europeans came to Scandinavia — it was unclear.
To find out, the researchers isolated DNA from the remains of 23 people (16 men and nine women) who lived in the X-XII centuries, and cut off the complete sequence of their genomes. As reference scientists used genome sequences of representatives of 21 European populations and 13 Europeans who lived in the middle ages on the territory of modern England, Sweden, Hungary and Montenegro. In addition, the tooth enamel 16 of them scientists have determined the ratio of isotopes of strontium. But only "isotopic signature" of strontium was able to identify the remains of 15 people. Strontium is a good marker of human mobility. Its isotopes accumulate in the tooth enamel of a person during its formation and their ratio can determine where he grew up.
Genetic data showed that some of the 23 people came to Sigtuna from other regions of Scandinavia, and some from afar — from the British Isles, the territory of modern Lithuania, Ukraine, Northern Germany, and from Northern Russia. Half of the inhabitants of the city, who managed to determine both the "isotope signature" and the sequence of the genome, turned out to be visitors. Some of them were immigrants in the second generation - the ratio of isotopes they had local, and genetically they belonged to other populations. Judging from the isotope signature alone, 70 per cent of women and 44 per cent of men came to Sigtuna from other places.
Earlier, researchers found that the Vikings were engaged in Maritime trade in the early VIII century, a few decades before the raids on other European countries. Presumably, so they gained the skills of navigation, which then came in handy to them during the raids.
www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(18)30844-3
Eight of the 16 inhabitants of the Swedish city of Sigtuna, who lived in the Viking age and whose remains were analyzed by researchers, turned out to be visitors, according to Current Biology. Some of them were" near " migrants and came from other regions of Scandinavia, while the rest grew on the territory of modern Lithuania, Ukraine, North Russia and the British Isles. Two people were immigrants in the second generation.
The Vikings called the period from VIII to XI century, when the inhabitants of Scandinavia had established trade relations with other European States, and often conquered and plundered them; colonized Iceland and Greenland and reached North America. At this time in Scandinavia there were cities, some of which exist today. The oldest of them was the city of Sigtuna, which is located on the shore of lake Malaren, associated with the Baltic sea, and is now part of the Stockholm conglomeration. Presumably, the city was founded in the late X century and for 250 years was one of the most important political, commercial and religious centers. The city was the Royal residence and here about 990-ies began to mint the first Swedish coin. At the end of the XII century the city was plundered by Baltic pirates, who probably appeared from the territory of modern Karelia, Latvia and Estonia. However, life in the city did not stop. Sigtuna lost its importance in the XIII century, when as a result of the post-glacial rise of land shipping routes to the city became shallow.
During the heyday of the city there were several Christian cemeteries. They were an important find not only for archaeologists, but also for geneticists. Unlike Christians, pagan Vikings often burned their dead, so it was impossible to extract DNA from their remains. In the Christian cemetery, the remains of whose DNA it was possible to isolate and analyze. Researchers led by Anna Kjellström from Stockholm University decided to try to understand how mobile the inhabitants of Sigtuna were. The fact that the inhabitants of Scandinavia in the middle ages traveled to Europe, scientists were well known, but many Europeans came to Scandinavia — it was unclear.
To find out, the researchers isolated DNA from the remains of 23 people (16 men and nine women) who lived in the X-XII centuries, and cut off the complete sequence of their genomes. As reference scientists used genome sequences of representatives of 21 European populations and 13 Europeans who lived in the middle ages on the territory of modern England, Sweden, Hungary and Montenegro. In addition, the tooth enamel 16 of them scientists have determined the ratio of isotopes of strontium. But only "isotopic signature" of strontium was able to identify the remains of 15 people. Strontium is a good marker of human mobility. Its isotopes accumulate in the tooth enamel of a person during its formation and their ratio can determine where he grew up.
Genetic data showed that some of the 23 people came to Sigtuna from other regions of Scandinavia, and some from afar — from the British Isles, the territory of modern Lithuania, Ukraine, Northern Germany, and from Northern Russia. Half of the inhabitants of the city, who managed to determine both the "isotope signature" and the sequence of the genome, turned out to be visitors. Some of them were immigrants in the second generation - the ratio of isotopes they had local, and genetically they belonged to other populations. Judging from the isotope signature alone, 70 per cent of women and 44 per cent of men came to Sigtuna from other places.
Earlier, researchers found that the Vikings were engaged in Maritime trade in the early VIII century, a few decades before the raids on other European countries. Presumably, so they gained the skills of navigation, which then came in handy to them during the raids.
www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(18)30844-3
