Papers by Maciej Chyleński
Nature Communications, 2023
The demographic history of East-Central Europe after the Neolithic period remains poorly explored... more The demographic history of East-Central Europe after the Neolithic period remains poorly explored, despite this region being on the confluence of various ecological zones and cultural entities. Here, the descendants of societies associated with steppe pastoralists form Early Bronze Age were followed by Middle Bronze Age populations displaying unique characteristics. Particularly, the predominance of collective burials, the scale of which, was previously seen only in the Neolithic. The extent to which this re-emergence of older traditions is a result of genetic shift or social changes in the MBA is a subject of debate.
Here by analysing 91 newly generated genomes from Bronze Age individuals from present Poland and Ukraine, we discovered that Middle Bronze Age populations were formed by an additional admixture event involving a population with relatively high proportions of genetic component associated with European hunter-gatherers and that their social structure was based on, primarily patrilocal, multigenerational kin-groups.
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From around 4,000 to 2,000 BC the forest-steppe northwestern Pontic region was occupied by people... more From around 4,000 to 2,000 BC the forest-steppe northwestern Pontic region was occupied by people who shared a nomadic lifestyle, pastoral economy and barrow burial rituals. It has been shown that these groups, especially those associated with the Yamnaya culture, played an important role in shaping the gene pool of Bronze Age Europeans, which extends into present-day patterns of genetic variation in Europe. Although the genetic impact of these migrations from the forest-steppe Pontic region into central Europe have previously been addressed in several studies, the contribution of mitochondrial lineages to the people associated with the Corded Ware culture in the eastern part of the North European Plain remains contentious. In this study, we present mitochondrial genomes from 23 Late Eneolithic and Bronze Age individuals, including representatives of the northwestern Pontic region and the Corded Ware culture from the eastern part of the North European Plain. We identified, for the first time in ancient populations, the rare mitochondrial haplogroup X4 in two Bronze Age Catacomb culture-associated individuals. Genetic similarity analyses show close maternal genetic affinities between populations associated with both eastern and Baltic Corded Ware culture, and the Yamnaya horizon, in contrast to larger genetic differentiation between populations associated with western Corded Ware culture and the Yamnaya horizon. This indicates that females with steppe ancestry contributed to the formation of populations associated with the eastern Corded Ware culture while more local people, likely of Neolithic farmer ancestry, contributed to the formation of populations associated with western Corded Ware culture. The forest-steppe northwestern Pontic region of the middle Dniester and Prut interfluve was a place of contact and exchange routes between human populations inhabiting the drainages of the Black and Baltic Seas from around 4,000 to 2,000 BC 1. During this time, the region was occupied by forest-steppe populations attributed to Published: xx xx xxxx OPEN
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The relation of LCT-13910 genotypes and bone mineral density (BMD) has been the subject of modern... more The relation of LCT-13910 genotypes and bone mineral density (BMD) has been the subject of modern-day human population studies, giving inconsistent results. In the present study we analyze for the first time a relation of LCT-13910 genotypes and BMD in historical skeletal individuals. Ancient population might be a model for testing this association due to elimination of non-natural factors affecting bone density. Among 22 medieval individuals from Sanok churchyard (SouthEastern Poland; dated from XIV to XVII c. AD) we identified 4 individuals with osteoporosis (mean BMD = 0.468 g/cm 2 , SD = 0.090), 10 individuals with osteo-penia (mean BMD = 0.531 g/cm 2 , SD = 0.066) and 8 individuals with normal BMD values (mean BMD = 0,642 g/cm 2 , SD = 0.060). Analyses of BMD and LCT-13910 genotypes revealed that mean BMD was the highest (0.583 g/cm 2 , SD = 0.065) in the individuals with lactose tolerance genotypes (TT and CT). We also found possible association of lower BMD at the radius and CC genotypes due to higher but not statistically significant frequency of osteoporosis in the lactose intolerant group (p = 0.60). Statistically significant correlation was found between BMD and females aged 20–35 years, with tendency to reduce BMD with age (p = 0.02).
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From around 4,000 to 2,000 BC the forest-steppe northwestern Pontic region was occupied by people... more From around 4,000 to 2,000 BC the forest-steppe northwestern Pontic region was occupied by people who shared a nomadic lifestyle, pastoral economy and barrow burial rituals. It has been shown that these groups, especially those associated with the Yamnaya culture, played an important role in shaping the gene pool of Bronze Age Europeans, which extends into present-day patterns of genetic variation in Europe. Although the genetic impact of these migrations from the forest-steppe Pontic region into central Europe have previously been addressed in several studies, the contribution of mitochondrial lineages to the people associated with the Corded Ware culture in the eastern part of the North European Plain remains contentious. In this study, we present mitochondrial genomes from 23 Late Eneolithic and Bronze Age individuals, including representatives of the northwestern Pontic region and the Corded Ware culture from the eastern part of the North European Plain. We identified, for the first time in ancient populations, the rare mitochondrial haplogroup X4 in two Bronze Age Catacomb culture-associated individuals. Genetic similarity analyses show close maternal genetic affinities between populations associated with both eastern and Baltic Corded Ware culture, and the Yamnaya horizon, in contrast to larger genetic differentiation between populations associated with western Corded Ware culture and the Yamnaya horizon. This indicates that females with steppe ancestry contributed to the formation of populations associated with the eastern Corded Ware culture while more local people, likely of Neolithic farmer ancestry, contributed to the formation of populations associated with western Corded Ware culture. The forest-steppe northwestern Pontic region of the middle Dniester and Prut interfluve was a place of contact and exchange routes between human populations inhabiting the drainages of the Black and Baltic Seas from around 4,000 to 2,000 BC 1. During this time, the region was occupied by forest-steppe populations attributed to Published: xx xx xxxx OPEN
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Background: Recent aDNA studies are progressively focusing on various Neolithic and Hunter-Gather... more Background: Recent aDNA studies are progressively focusing on various Neolithic and Hunter-Gatherer (HG) populations, providing arguments in favor of major migrations accompanying European Neolithisation. The major focus was so far on the Linear Pottery Culture (LBK), which introduced the Neolithic way of life in Central Europe in the second half of 6th millennium BC. It is widely agreed that people of this culture were genetically different from local HGs and no genetic exchange is seen between the two groups. From the other hand some degree of resurgence of HGs genetic component is seen in late Neolithic groups belonging to the complex of the Funnel Beaker Cultures (TRB). Less attention is brought to various middle Neolithic cultures belonging to Late Danubian sequence which chronologically fall in between those two abovementioned groups. We suspected that genetic influx from HG to farming communities might have happened in Late Danubian cultures since archaeologists see extensive contacts between those two communities.
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Scythians were nomadic and semi-nomadic people that ruled the Eurasian steppe during much of the ... more Scythians were nomadic and semi-nomadic people that ruled the Eurasian steppe during much of the first millennium BCE. While having been extensively studied by archaeology, very little is known about their genetic identity. To fill this gap, we analyzed ancient mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from Scythians of the North Pontic Region (NPR) and successfully retrieved 19 whole mtDNA genomes. We have identified three potential mtDNA lineage ancestries of the NPR Scythians tracing back to hunter-gatherer and nomadic populations of east and west Eurasia as well as the Neolithic farming expansion into Europe. One third of all mt lineages in our dataset belonged to subdivisions of mt haplogroup U5. A comparison of NPR Scythian mtDNA linages with other contemporaneous Scythian groups, the Saka and the Pazyryks, reveals a common mtDNA package comprised of haplogroups H/H5, U5a, A, D/D4, and F1/F2. Of these, west Eurasian lineages show a downward cline in the west-east direction while east Eurasian haplogroups display the opposite trajectory. An overall similarity in mtDNA lineages of the NPR Scythians was found with the late Bronze Age Srubnaya population of the Northern Black Sea region which supports the archaeological hypothesis suggesting Srubnaya people as ancestors of the NPR Scythians.
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Scythians were nomadic and semi-nomadic people that ruled the Eurasian steppe during much of the ... more Scythians were nomadic and semi-nomadic people that ruled the Eurasian steppe during much of the first millennium BCE. While having been extensively studied by archaeology, very little is known about their genetic identity. To fill this gap, we analyzed ancient mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from Scythians of the North Pontic Region (NPR) and successfully retrieved 19 whole mtDNA genomes. We have identified three potential mtDNA lineage ancestries of the NPR Scythians tracing back to hunter-gatherer and nomadic populations of east and west Eurasia as well as the Neolithic farming expansion into Europe. One third of all mt lineages in our dataset belonged to subdivisions of mt haplogroup U5. A comparison of NPR Scythian mtDNA linages with other contemporaneous Scythian groups, the Saka and the Pazyryks, reveals a common mtDNA package comprised of haplogroups H/H5, U5a, A, D/D4, and F1/F2. Of these, west Eurasian lineages show a downward cline in the west-east direction while east Eurasian haplogroups display the opposite trajectory. An overall similarity in mtDNA lineages of the NPR Scythians was found with the late Bronze Age Srubnaya population of the Northern Black Sea region which supports the archaeological hypothesis suggesting Srubnaya people as ancestors of the NPR Scythians. The Eurasian Steppe is a vast grassland region that stretches from the Carpathian foothills to Outer Mongolia. For millennia, the steppe was home to human populations that had a significant and long-lasting impact on the cultural history of the Eurasian continent. One such group that emerged at the beginning of the Iron Age had developed into an ethno-cultural agglomerate commonly referred to as the Scythians. The Scythians are best known from ancient Persian, Greek and Assyrian literary sources mainly for their nomadic warrior lifestyle, but they are also known to have actively practiced farming, pastoralism and may have been among the earliest peoples to master the art of horseback riding 1. The territory occupied by contemporaneous nomadic and semi-nomadic Scythian groups with shared elements of material culture extended between the lower stretches of the Danube River in the west and the Yenisei River in the east 2,3 (Fig. 1). Most archaeology and history researchers suggest that the core territory of the tribes designated as " Scythians " in historic literature of Antiquity covered the steppe and forest-steppe regions of the northern Black Sea (the North Pontic region, NPR) between the lower Danube and Don rivers 4,5. Together with other contemporaneous groups they formed the 'Scythian horizon'. These groups are collectively referred to by some researchers as Scytho-Siberians, who inhabited the steppe regions to the east of NPR Scythians and included Saka from Kazakhstan (7 th –3 rd century BCE) 6,7 and Pazyryks (5 th –3 rd century BCE) from the Sayano-Altai region
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We applied an interdisciplinary approach to investigate kinship patterns and funerary practices d... more We applied an interdisciplinary approach to investigate kinship patterns and funerary practices during the middle Neolithic. Genetic studies, radiocarbon dating, and taphonomic analyses were used to examine two grave clusters from Krusza Zamkowa, Poland. To reconstruct kinship and determine biological sex, we extracted DNA from bones and teeth, analyzed mitochondrial genomes and nuclear SNPs using the HID-Ion AmpliSeq TM Identity panel generated on Illumina and Ion Torrent platforms, respectively. We further dated the material (AMS 14 C) and to exclude aquatic radiocarbon reservoir effects, measures of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes for diet reconstruction were used. We found distinct mitochondrial genomes belonging to haplogroups U5b2a1a, K1c and H3d in the first grave cluster, and excluded maternal kin patterns among the three analyzed individuals. In the second grave cluster one individual belonged to K1a4. However, we could not affiliate the second individual to a certain haplogroup due to the fragmented state of the mitochondrial genome. Although the individuals from the second grave cluster differ at position 6643, we believe that more data is needed to fully resolve this issue. We retrieved between 26 and 77 autosomal SNPs from three of the individuals. Based on kinship estimations, taking into account the allelic dropout distribution, we could not exclude first degree kin relation between the two individuals from the second grave cluster. We could, however, exclude a first degree kinship between these two individuals and an individual from the first grave cluster. Presumably, not only biological kinship, but also social relations played an important role in the funerary practice during this time period. We further conclude that the HID-Ion AmpliSeq TM Identity Panel may prove useful for first degree kin relation studies for samples with good DNA preservation, and that mitochondrial genome capture enrichment is a powerful tool for excluding direct maternal relationship in ancient individuals.
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anthropological examinations were performed on skeletal material
from four barrow necropolises l... more anthropological examinations were performed on skeletal material
from four barrow necropolises located in the Yampil region (Ukraine)
and dated to the Eneolithic, Bronze age and iron age. The purpose
of the examinations was the determination of sex and age at death
of individuals, reconstruction of their stature and assessment of their
status of health. The examinations covered 61 individuals: 17 children and 44 adults. Their health status was assessed using four common
indicators: linear enamel hypoplasia, cribra orbitalia, porotic hyper-
ostosis and dental caries.
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Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
We applied an interdisciplinary approach to investigate kinship patterns and funerary practices d... more We applied an interdisciplinary approach to investigate kinship patterns and funerary practices during the middle Neolithic. Genetic studies, radiocarbon dating, and taphonomic analyses were used to examine two grave clusters from Krusza Zamkowa, Poland. To reconstruct kinship and determine biological sex, we extracted DNA from bones and teeth, analyzed mitochondrial genomes and nuclear SNPs using the HID-Ion AmpliSeq TM Identity panel generated on Illumina and Ion Torrent platforms, respectively. We further dated the material (AMS 14 C) and to exclude aquatic radiocarbon reservoir effects, measures of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes for diet reconstruction were used. We found distinct mitochondrial genomes belonging to haplogroups U5b2a1a, K1c and H3d in the first grave cluster, and excluded maternal kin patterns among the three analyzed individuals. In the second grave cluster one individual belonged to K1a4. However, we could not affiliate the second individual to a certain haplogroup due to the fragmented state of the mitochondrial genome. Although the individuals from the second grave cluster differ at position 6643, we believe that more data is needed to fully resolve this issue. We retrieved between 26 and 77 autosomal SNPs from three of the individuals. Based on kinship estimations, taking into account the allelic dropout distribution, we could not exclude first degree kin relation between the two individuals from the second grave cluster. We could, however, exclude a first degree kinship between these two individuals and an individual from the first grave cluster. Presumably, not only biological kinship, but also social relations played an important role in the funerary practice during this time period. We further conclude that the HID-Ion AmpliSeq TM Identity Panel may prove useful for first degree kin relation studies for samples with good DNA preservation, and that mitochondrial genome capture enrichment is a powerful tool for excluding direct maternal relationship in ancient individuals.
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Papers by Maciej Chyleński
Here by analysing 91 newly generated genomes from Bronze Age individuals from present Poland and Ukraine, we discovered that Middle Bronze Age populations were formed by an additional admixture event involving a population with relatively high proportions of genetic component associated with European hunter-gatherers and that their social structure was based on, primarily patrilocal, multigenerational kin-groups.
from four barrow necropolises located in the Yampil region (Ukraine)
and dated to the Eneolithic, Bronze age and iron age. The purpose
of the examinations was the determination of sex and age at death
of individuals, reconstruction of their stature and assessment of their
status of health. The examinations covered 61 individuals: 17 children and 44 adults. Their health status was assessed using four common
indicators: linear enamel hypoplasia, cribra orbitalia, porotic hyper-
ostosis and dental caries.
Here by analysing 91 newly generated genomes from Bronze Age individuals from present Poland and Ukraine, we discovered that Middle Bronze Age populations were formed by an additional admixture event involving a population with relatively high proportions of genetic component associated with European hunter-gatherers and that their social structure was based on, primarily patrilocal, multigenerational kin-groups.
from four barrow necropolises located in the Yampil region (Ukraine)
and dated to the Eneolithic, Bronze age and iron age. The purpose
of the examinations was the determination of sex and age at death
of individuals, reconstruction of their stature and assessment of their
status of health. The examinations covered 61 individuals: 17 children and 44 adults. Their health status was assessed using four common
indicators: linear enamel hypoplasia, cribra orbitalia, porotic hyper-
ostosis and dental caries.