Conny Waters – AncientPages.com – In the 370s, the Huns made a sudden appearance in Europe, establishing a significant yet brief empire. Scholars have long debated their origins, particularly whether they descended from the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu Empire dissolved around 100 CE, leaving a 300-year gap before the Huns emerged in Europe. Researchers have sought to determine if DNA lineages exist that connect these periods.
Left: DNA. Credit: Sinousxl – Pixabay – Public Domain – Right: A reconstruction of Attila by George S. Stuart, Museum of Ventura County. Credit: George S. Stuart – CC BY-SA 3.0 – Image compilation – AncientPages.com
To explore this question, scientists analyzed DNA from 370 individuals who lived over an 800-year span—from the 2nd century BCE to the 6th century CE—across regions including the Mongolian steppe, Central Asia, and Central Europe’s Carpathian Basin. This included examining 35 newly sequenced genomes from sites such as a 3rd–4th-century location in Kazakhstan and Hun-period burials with Eastern traits in the Carpathian Basin.
The study was part of HistoGenes and involved geneticists, archaeologists, and historians from institutions like Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Findings revealed no large Asian or steppe-descended community in the Carpathian Basin post-Hun arrival but did identify individuals with notable East Asian genetic markers linked to “eastern-type” burials associated with nomadic traditions.
Advanced comparisons of genealogical connections (the analysis of shared DNA segments known as identical-by-descent, or IBD) led to a remarkable discovery.
Co-first author Guido Alberto Gnecchi-Ruscone of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology adds, “It came as a surprise to discover that few of these Hun-period individuals in Europe share IBD links with some of the highest-ranking imperial elite individuals from the late Xiongnu Empire.” These connections also include an individual from the largest terrace tomb ever discovered in a Xiongnu context.
Research indicates that some Huns in Europe may have ancestral ties to significant late Xiongnu burials from the Mongolian steppe. However, the archaeogenomic data for most individuals from the Hun and post-Hun periods in the Carpathian Basin shows a more diverse ancestry. Co-first author Zsófia Rácz of Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest explains that both DNA and archaeological findings reveal a mosaic of ancestries, suggesting a complex process of mobility and interaction rather than a straightforward mass migration.
The study reveals that while there are confirmed direct descendants of Xiongnu elites, the population of the Hun empire in Europe was genetically diverse. Additionally, it highlights that 5th-century “eastern-type” burials in Central Europe exhibit significant diversity in cultural and genetic backgrounds. Furthermore, the findings emphasize a notable contrast between the arrival of the Huns in Europe and that of the Avars two centuries later.
“The Avars came directly to Europe after their East-Asian empire had been destroyed by the Turks, and many of their descendants still carried considerable East Asian ancestry until the end of their rule in c. 800. The ancestors of Attila’s Huns took many generations on their way westward and mixed with populations across Eurasia,” Co-corresponding author Walter Pohl of the Austrian Academy of Sciences adds.
Excavation photo of the Hun-period “eastern-type” burial from Budapest, Népfürdő Street (Hungary). Credit: Boglárka Mészáros, BHM Aquincum Museum
This research sheds light on how past societies in the Carpathian Basin adapted and evolved with the arrival of new groups. Co-corresponding author Zuzana Hofmanová from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology notes that while the Huns significantly altered the political landscape, their genetic impact—apart from certain elite burials—was relatively limited. The broader population appears to be mainly of European origin, maintaining local traditions with some influences from newly arrived steppe cultures.
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Johannes Krause, co-corresponding author and director of the Department of Archaeogenetics at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, emphasizes that this study highlights how advanced genetic research combined with thorough archaeological and historical analysis can resolve long-standing debates about ancient population origins and compositions.
Although many questions remain unanswered, this work provides strong evidence for direct links between populations during the Hun period, steppe regions, and the Xiongnu Empire. It enhances our understanding of historical networks connecting East and West Eurasia.
The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Written by Conny Waters – AncientPages.com Staff Writer
