North Pontic crossroads: Mobility in Ukraine from the Bronze Age to the early modern period

Lehti Saag; Olga Utevska; Stanislav Zadnikov; Iryna Shramko; Kyrylo Horbenko; Mykola Bandrivskyi; Dmytro Pavliv; Бруяко Игорь Викторович; D. S. Grechko; Виталий Окатенко; Gennadi Toshev; Svetlana Andrukh; Vira Radziyevska; Юрій Буйнов; Вікторія Котенко; Oleksandr Smyrnov; Oleg Petrauskas; Boris Magomedov; Serhii V. Didenko; Анатолій Гейко; Роман Рейда; Serhii Sapiehin; Viktor Aksonov; Oleksii Laptiev; Svyatoslav Terskyi; Viacheslav Skorokhod; Vitalii Zhyhola; Yu. M. Sytyi; Mari Järve; Christiana L. Scheib

doi:10.1126/sciadv.adr0695

GenomicsScience AdvancesJan 8, 2025

Peer-reviewed journal article

North Pontic crossroads: Mobility in Ukraine from the Bronze Age to the early modern period

Lehti Saag iD, Olga Utevska iD, Stanislav Zadnikov iD, Iryna Shramko iD, Kyrylo Horbenko iD, Mykola Bandrivskyi iD, Dmytro Pavliv iD, Бруяко Игорь Викторович iD, D. S. Grechko iD, Виталий Окатенко iD, Gennadi Toshev iD, Svetlana Andrukh iD, Vira Radziyevska iD, Юрій Буйнов iD, Вікторія Котенко iD, Oleksandr Smyrnov iD, Oleg Petrauskas iD, Boris Magomedov iD, Serhii V. Didenko iD, Анатолій Гейко iD, Роман Рейда iD, Serhii Sapiehin iD, Viktor Aksonov iD, Oleksii Laptiev iD, Svyatoslav Terskyi iD, , Mark Thomas iD

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Abstract

The North Pontic region, which encompasses present-day Ukraine, was a crossroads of migration as it connected the vast Eurasian Steppe with Central Europe. We generated shotgun-sequenced genomic data for 91 individuals dating from around 7,000 BCE to 1,800 CE to study migration and mobility history in the region, with a particular focus on historically attested migrating groups during the Iron Age and the medieval period, such as Scythian, Chernyakhiv, Saltiv and Nogai associated peoples. We infer a high degree of temporal heterogeneity in ancestry, with fluctuating genetic affinities to present-day Western European, Eastern European, Western Steppe and East Asian groups. We also infer high heterogeneity in ancestry within geographically, culturally and socially defined groups. Despite this, we find that ancestry components which are widespread in Eastern and Central Europe have been present in the Ukraine region since the Bronze Age.