Archaeogenetic analysis revealed East Eurasian paternal origin to the Aba royal family of Hungary

Gergely I B Varga; Zoltán Maróti; Oszkár Schütz; Kitti Maár; Emil Nyerki; Balázs Tihanyi; Orsolya Anna Váradi; Alexandra Gînguță; Bence Kovács; Petra Kiss; Monika Dosztig; Zsolt Gallina; Tibor Török; János B Szabó; Miklós Makoldi; Endre Neparáczki

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2024.110892

Archaeogenetic analysis revealed East Eurasian paternal origin to the Aba royal family of Hungary

iScience. 2024 Sep 14;27(10):110892. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.110892. eCollection 2024 Oct 18.

Authors

Gergely I B Varga^{1

2}, Zoltán Maróti^{1

3}, Oszkár Schütz^{1

2}, Kitti Maár^{1

2}, Emil Nyerki³, Balázs Tihanyi^{1

4}, Orsolya Anna Váradi^{1

4}, Alexandra Gînguță¹, Bence Kovács^{1

2}, Petra Kiss², Monika Dosztig², Zsolt Gallina⁵, Tibor Török^{1

2}, János B Szabó⁶, Miklós Makoldi⁵, Endre Neparáczki^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Archaeogenetics, Institute of Hungarian Research, 1062 Budapest, Hungary.
² Department of Genetics, Institute of Biology, University of Szeged, 6726 Szeged, Hungary.
³ Department of Pediatrics and Pediatric Health Center, University of Szeged, 6725 Szeged, Hungary.
⁴ Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Szeged, 6726 Szeged, Hungary.
⁵ Department of Archaeology, Institute of Hungarian Research, 1062 Budapest, Hungary.
⁶ Department of History, Institute of Hungarian Research, 1062 Budapest, Hungary.

Abstract

The Aba family played a pivotal role in Medieval Hungary, dominating vast territories and producing influential figures. We conducted an archaeogenetic study on remains from the necropolis in Abasár, the political center of the Aba clan, to identify family members and explore their genetic origins. Using Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) data from 19 individuals and radiocarbon dating, we identified 6 Aba family members with close kinship ties. Four males carried identical N1a1a1a1a4∼ haplogroups, and our phylogenetic analysis traced this royal paternal lineage back to Mongolia, indicating migration to the Carpathian Basin with the conquering Hungarians. Genome analysis, including ADMIXTURE, principal-component analysis (PCA), and qpAdm, revealed East Eurasian genetic patterns, aligning with our phylogenetic findings. Identity by descent (IBD) analysis confirmed family kinship and revealed connections to prominent Hungarian noble families like the Árpáds, Báthorys, and Corvinus, as well as to the first-generation immigrant elite of the Hungarian conquest.

Keywords: Archaeology; Genomics; History.