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

Abstract

Given their historical impact, the question of the origins of the European Huns, who they were and where they came from, has gone beyond scholarly interest and has permeated into cultural consciousness. Since the first theories that associated the Huns with the Xiongnu, academics have extensively researched and debated this topic, never reaching a consensus—except perhaps agreeing that the evidence available is very limited. In this article, we show that archaeogenomic data, if interpreted with careful archaeological and historical contextualization, can be a powerful source of information. We provide new compelling evidence on the origins of the Hun-period population, its considerable diversity and its ties to the steppe and the Xiongnu elites. Keywords: ancient DNA, trans-Eurasian mobility, Huns, Xiongnu, Middle Ages