Arab genes in the Iron Age tomb of Denmark

An ancient Danish with an Arab gene group - part of a DNA study - shows that Scandinavian people 2,000 years ago are more genetically diverse today.

The researchers said the Iron Age man was probably a soldier stationed on the northern border of the Roman Empire or of the lineage of female slaves brought from the Middle East. The Roman Empire at that time stretched all the way to the Middle East, while the Roman legions stationed the farthest north to the Elbe River, northern Germany.

The 18-body analysis is well preserved in two cemeteries dating from the first year to 400 AD, eastern Denmark. These areas were first excavated about 20 years ago. Mitochondrial DNA, the genetic data of an individual's mother's family, was taken from the teeth of Linea Melchior's scientific group, the Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Copenhagen.

According to Melchior, a skeleton has a type of DNA signature - known as haplogroup - closely related to the Arabian Peninsula. 'It appears especially in the Bedouin tribes, but it was also discovered in southern Europe.'

Scientists say the female skull with this hairpin was discovered in an ancient cemetery in Skovgaarde, Denmark, where 2000-year-old remains hold genetic markers also in Scandinavians today.(Photo: P. Ethelberg / Sydsjllands Museum)
Meanwhile, the analysis of the DNA of another skull (without a picture) from the nearby cemetery at Bøgebjerggård discovered the Arab gene.
These findings suggest that ancient Danish genetic diversity may be higher than today for some social components, but not all.
Both cemeteries are in the southern island of Sjælland (Zealand).

Iron Age tomb

The remains of the remains belong to the Bøgebjerggård, an Iron Age region in southern Sj đảolland (Zealand). These bodies may be poor farmers.

Other unusual haplogroup groups were identified, including a representative of the prehistoric European lineage that accounted for only 2% of the Danes today.'It is possible that one of the ancient Nordic groups was degenerated by later Scandinavian and German migrants.'

In contrast, the other cemetery, located nearby Skovgaarde, contains corpses with common genetic signs for modern Scandinavians.'They are typical Nordic groups and their diversity is lower.'

This group is mostly women and is distinguished by expensive burial items, including beautifully machined rings, necklaces and hairpins. 'You can see they are dressed very nicely with gorgeous jewelry before being buried.'

Skovgaarde's graves are said to be the manifestation of the aristocracy - the scientists who think come from another Scandinavian region.

The findings were published in November in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, and are part of a larger work that suggests that Danish ancestors are more diverse than today.

DNA detection

Reliable DNA results were obtained from 56 individuals from the end of the Stone Age to the Middle Ages.

Melchior said 'In all the regions we surveyed in Denmark we found rare genetic groups and groups that are not common or non-existent in Europe today. When we researched the past, we discovered much higher diversity. Surprisingly the lowest variety discovered by the Danes today. '

A possible explanation by the group is that some groups are more vulnerable to plague attacks than others, most notably Black Death. It alone wiped out one-third of the European population between 1347 and 1351. The same hypothesis was coined by another study, which also recorded the loss of similar genetic diversity to with the British.

Researchers, including Rus Hoelzel, a School of Biomedical and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Durham, UK, found that during the Middle Ages, a special group of haplogroup in Britain spread. This may reflect the fact that families share certain genetic groups that survive the disease more than others.

Hoelzel said 'The epidemic in terms of time seems to be a convincing candidate, although it is not the only reason.'