Ancient genomes reveal trans-Eurasian connections between the European Huns and the Xiongnu Empire

Gnecchi-Ruscone G.A. Rácz Z. Liccardo S. Lee J. Huang Y. Traverso L. Radzevičiūtė R. Hajnal Z. Szécsényi-Nagy A. Gyuris B. Mateovics-László O. Bernert Z. Szeniczey T. Hajdu T. Mészáros B. Bálint M. Mende B.G. Miller B. Samashev Z. Childebayeva A. Djansugurova L. Geary P. Ringbauer H. Vida T. Jeong C. Pohl W. Krause J. Hofmanová Z.
4 March 2025 National Academy of Sciences

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
2025 #122 Issue 9

The Huns appeared in Europe in the 370s, establishing an Empire that reshaped West Eurasian history. Yet until today their origins remain a matter of extensive debate. Traditional theories link them to the Xiongnu, the founders of the first nomadic empire of the Mongolian steppe. The Xiongnu empire dissolved, however, ~300 y before the Huns appeared in Europe, and there is little archaeological and historical evidence of Huns in the steppe during this time gap. Furthermore, despite the rich 5th to 6th centuries current era (CE) archaeological record of the Carpathian Basin, the cultural elements of connections with the steppe are limited to few findings and even fewer solitary eastern-type burials. In this study, we coanalyze archaeological evidence with 35 newly sequenced and published genomic data for a total of 370 individuals—from 5th to 6th century CE contexts in the Carpathian Basin including 10 Hun-period eastern-type burials, 2nd to 5th century sites across Central Asia and 2nd c. before current era (BCE) to 1st c. CE Xiongnu period sites across the Mongolian steppe. We find no evidence for the presence of a large eastern/steppe descent community among the Hun- and post-Hun-period Carpathian Basin population. We also observe a high genetic diversity among the eastern-type burials that recapitulates the variability observed across the Eurasian Steppe. This suggests a mixed origin of the incoming steppe conquerors. Nevertheless, long-shared genomic tracts provide compelling evidence of genetic lineages directly connecting some individuals of the highest Xiongnu-period elite with 5th to 6th century CE Carpathian Basin individuals, showing that some European Huns descended from them. Copyright

ancient DNA , Huns , Middle Ages , trans-Eurasian mobility , Xiongnu

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Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, 04103, Germany
Department of Archaeology and Museology, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University, Brno, 60200, Czech Republic
Institute of Archaeological Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, 1088, Hungary
Institute of Austrian Historical Research, Faculty of Historical and Cultural Studies, University of Vienna, Wien, 1010, Austria
Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Historical Identity Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Wien, 1010, Austria
School of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, South Korea
Institute for Data Innovation in Science, Biodata Science Center, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, South Korea
Archaeological Department, Hungarian National Museum, Budapest, 1088, Hungary
Institute of Archaeogenomics, Hungarian Research Network, UN-REN Research Centre for the Humanities, Budapest, 1097, Hungary
Lendület “Momentum” Bioarchaeology Research Group, Budapest, 1097, Hungary
Institute of Biology, Doctoral School of Biology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, 1117, Hungary
Archäologischer Dienst GesmbH, St. Pölten, 3100, Austria
Department of Anthropology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, 1083, Hungary
Department of Biological Anthropology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, 1117, Hungary
Department of Prehistory and Migration Period, Budapest History Museum, Aquincum and Archaeological Park, Budapest, 1031, Hungary
Hajdúsági Museum, Hajdúböszörmény, 4220, Hungary
Museum of Anthropological Archaeology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 48109, MI, United States
History of Art, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 48109, MI, United States
State Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve “Berel”, Zhambyl, 070906, Kazakhstan
Branch of Institute of Archaeology by A.Kh., Margulan, Nur-Sultan, 010011, Kazakhstan
Department of Anthropology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, 78712, TX, United States
Center of Paleogenetics and Ethnogenomics, Institute of Genetics and Physiology, Almaty, 050060, Kazakhstan
Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, 08540, NJ, United States
Department of Historical Archaeology, Institute of Archaeology, Hungarian Research Network Research Centre for the Humanities, Budapest, 1097, Hungary

Department of Archaeogenetics
Department of Archaeology and Museology
Institute of Archaeological Sciences
Institute of Austrian Historical Research
Institute for Medieval Research
School of Biological Sciences
Institute for Data Innovation in Science
Archaeological Department
Institute of Archaeogenomics
Lendület “Momentum” Bioarchaeology Research Group
Institute of Biology
Archäologischer Dienst GesmbH
Department of Anthropology
Department of Biological Anthropology
Department of Prehistory and Migration Period
Hajdúsági Museum
Museum of Anthropological Archaeology
History of Art
State Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve “Berel”
Branch of Institute of Archaeology by A.Kh.
Department of Anthropology
Center of Paleogenetics and Ethnogenomics
Institute for Advanced Study
Department of Historical Archaeology

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