TY - JOUR

T1 - The Anglo-Saxon migration and the formation of the early English gene pool

AU - Gretzinger, Joscha

AU - Sayer, Duncan

AU - Justeau, Pierre

AU - Altena, Eveline

AU - Pala, Maria

AU - Dulias, Katharina

AU - Edwards, Ceiridwen J

AU - Jodoin, Susanne

AU - Lacher, Laura

AU - Sabin, Susanna

AU - Vågene, Åshild J.

AU - Haak, Wolfgang

AU - Ebenesersdóttir, S. Sunna

AU - Moore, Kristjan H. S.

AU - Radzeviciute, Rita

AU - Schmidt, Kara

AU - Brace, Selina

AU - Bager, Martina Abenhus

AU - Patterson, Nick

AU - Papac, Luka

AU - Broomandkhoshbacht, Nasreen

AU - Callan, Kimberly

AU - Harney, Éadaoin

AU - Iliev, Lora

AU - Lawson, Ann Marie

AU - Michel, Megan

AU - Stewardson, Kristin

AU - Zalzala, Fatma

AU - Rohland, Nadin

AU - Kappelhoff-Beckmann, Stefanie

AU - Both, Frank

AU - Winger, Daniel

AU - Neumann, Daniel

AU - Saalow, Lars

AU - Krabath, Stefan

AU - Beckett, Sophie

AU - Van Twest, Melanie

AU - Faulkner, Neil

AU - Read, Chris

AU - Barton, Tabatha

AU - Caruth, Joanna

AU - Hines, John

AU - Krause-Kyora, Ben

AU - Warnke, Ursula

AU - Schuenemann, Verena J.

AU - Barnes, Ian

AU - Dahlström, Hanna

AU - Clausen, Jane Jark

AU - Richardson, Andrew

AU - Popescu, Elizabeth

AU - Dodwell, Natasha

AU - Ladd, Stuart

AU - Phillips, Tom

AU - Mortimer, Richard

AU - Sayer, Faye

AU - Swales, Diana

AU - Stewart, Allison

AU - Powlesland, Dominic

AU - Kenyon, Robert

AU - Ladle, Lilian

AU - Peek, Christina

AU - Grefen-Peters, Silke

AU - Ponce, Paola

AU - Daniels, Robin

AU - Spall, Cecily

AU - Woolcock, Jennifer

AU - Jones, Andy M.

AU - Roberts, Amy V.

AU - Symmons, Robert

AU - Rawden, Anooshka C.

AU - Cooper, Alan

AU - Bos, Kirsten I.

AU - Booth, Tom

AU - Schroeder, Hannes

AU - Thomas, Mark G.

AU - Helgason, Agnar

AU - Richards, Martin B.

AU - Reich, David

AU - Krause, Johannes

AU - Schiffels, Stephan

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s).

PY - 2022

Y1 - 2022

N2 - The history of the British Isles and Ireland is characterized by multiple periods of major cultural change, including the influential transformation after the end of Roman rule, which precipitated shifts in language, settlement patterns and material culture1. The extent to which migration from continental Europe mediated these transitions is a matter of long-standing debate2–4. Here we study genome-wide ancient DNA from 460 medieval northwestern Europeans—including 278 individuals from England—alongside archaeological data, to infer contemporary population dynamics. We identify a substantial increase of continental northern European ancestry in early medieval England, which is closely related to the early medieval and present-day inhabitants of Germany and Denmark, implying large-scale substantial migration across the North Sea into Britain during the Early Middle Ages. As a result, the individuals who we analysed from eastern England derived up to 76% of their ancestry from the continental North Sea zone, albeit with substantial regional variation and heterogeneity within sites. We show that women with immigrant ancestry were more often furnished with grave goods than women with local ancestry, whereas men with weapons were as likely not to be of immigrant ancestry. A comparison with present-day Britain indicates that subsequent demographic events reduced the fraction of continental northern European ancestry while introducing further ancestry components into the English gene pool, including substantial southwestern European ancestry most closely related to that seen in Iron Age France5,6.

AB - The history of the British Isles and Ireland is characterized by multiple periods of major cultural change, including the influential transformation after the end of Roman rule, which precipitated shifts in language, settlement patterns and material culture1. The extent to which migration from continental Europe mediated these transitions is a matter of long-standing debate2–4. Here we study genome-wide ancient DNA from 460 medieval northwestern Europeans—including 278 individuals from England—alongside archaeological data, to infer contemporary population dynamics. We identify a substantial increase of continental northern European ancestry in early medieval England, which is closely related to the early medieval and present-day inhabitants of Germany and Denmark, implying large-scale substantial migration across the North Sea into Britain during the Early Middle Ages. As a result, the individuals who we analysed from eastern England derived up to 76% of their ancestry from the continental North Sea zone, albeit with substantial regional variation and heterogeneity within sites. We show that women with immigrant ancestry were more often furnished with grave goods than women with local ancestry, whereas men with weapons were as likely not to be of immigrant ancestry. A comparison with present-day Britain indicates that subsequent demographic events reduced the fraction of continental northern European ancestry while introducing further ancestry components into the English gene pool, including substantial southwestern European ancestry most closely related to that seen in Iron Age France5,6.

U2 - 10.1038/s41586-022-05247-2

DO - 10.1038/s41586-022-05247-2

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 36131019

AN - SCOPUS:85138501252

VL - 610

SP - 112

EP - 119

JO - Nature

JF - Nature

SN - 0028-0836

ER -