Genetic history of East-Central Europe in the first millennium CE

AI interpretationAI-generated

Ancient DNA tests whether Slavs reached Poland before or after the 6th century CE.

For over 200 years scholars have argued about when Slavs appeared in East-Central Europe. One view says they arrived in what is now Poland no earlier than the sixth century CE; the other says they were already there in the Iron Age. Testing this is hard because from the late Bronze Age to the Middle Ages people in Central Europe mostly cremated their dead, which destroys DNA. This study uses ancient DNA to examine that question.

• The study directly addresses a 200-year debate over whether Slavs entered contemporary Poland before or after the sixth century CE.
• Two competing hypotheses are tested: a post-sixth-century arrival versus Iron Age presence in the region.
• Widespread cremation from the late Bronze Age to the Middle Ages makes genetic testing of this question especially difficult.

Sample interpretation

The dataset includes 43 site samples, of which 24 have resolved Y-chromosome lineages. The most common Y haplogroup is I-M253 (4 samples), followed by R-PF6162 (2). Other lineages appear once each: I-S9952, R-PF7558, I-Y6627, I-Y3560, E-Z1057 and R-YP4669. Mitochondrial DNA is very sparse, with only U4a2 listed (1 sample). One named site, PCA0236, contributes a single sample.

For genealogy enthusiasts

For ancestry fans, this shows how ancient DNA can tackle big origin questions, but also how cremation and small sample sizes limit what can be concluded about early Slavic presence in East-Central Europe.