Journal article
Population genomics of the Viking world
University of Copenhagen1
Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark2
McGill University3
Tallinn University4
Polish Academy of Sciences5
Lomonosov Moscow State University6
Manx National Heritage7
Upplandsmuseet8
Norwegian University of Science and Technology9
Thames Valley Archaeological Services10
University of Warsaw11
University of Bristol12
National Yunlin University of Science and Technology13
Institute of Archaeology14
University of the Highlands and Islands15
National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine16
Belle Arti e Paesaggio per le Province di Barletta17
Jönköping County Museum18
Oxford Archaeology19
National Museum of Ireland20
Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin21
Västergötlands Museum22
Trinity College Dublin23
Amgueddfa Cymru–National Museum Wales24
Trzy Epoki Archaeological Service25
Museum of Southwest Jutland26
Russian Academy of Sciences27
National Museum of Denmark28
Roskilde Museum29
Langelands Museum30
University of Foggia31
University of Oslo32
National Museum of the Faroe Islands33
Lund University34
Malmö museum35
Université Paul Sabatier Toulouse III36
Simon Fraser University37
Aarhus University38
University of Gothenburg39
University of California at Berkeley40
University of Southern Denmark41
Uppsala University42
University of Cambridge43
Modern and Ancient Genomes, Bioinformatics, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark44
Bioinformatics, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark45
Bayesian modeling, Machine learning, Molecular Evolution, and Metagenomics, Bioinformatics, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark46
...and 36 moreThe maritime expansion of Scandinavian populations during the Viking Age (about ad 750–1050) was a far-flung transformation in world history1,2. Here we sequenced the genomes of 442 humans from archaeological sites across Europe and Greenland (to a median depth of about 1×) to understand the global influence of this expansion.
We find the Viking period involved gene flow into Scandinavia from the south and east. We observe genetic structure within Scandinavia, with diversity hotspots in the south and restricted gene flow within Scandinavia. We find evidence for a major influx of Danish ancestry into England; a Swedish influx into the Baltic; and Norwegian influx into Ireland, Iceland and Greenland.
Additionally, we see substantial ancestry from elsewhere in Europe entering Scandinavia during the Viking Age. Our ancient DNA analysis also revealed that a Viking expedition included close family members. By comparing with modern populations, we find that pigmentation-associated loci have undergone strong population differentiation during the past millennium, and trace positively selected loci—including the lactase-persistence allele of LCT and alleles of ANKA that are associated with the immune response—in detail.
We conclude that the Viking diaspora was characterized by substantial transregional engagement: distinct populations influenced the genomic makeup of different regions of Europe, and Scandinavia experienced increased contact with the rest of the continent.
| Language: | English |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Nature Publishing Group UK |
| Year: | 2020 |
| Pages: | 390-396 |
| Journal subtitle: | International Weekly Journal of Science |
| ISSN: | 14764687 and 00280836 |
| Types: | Journal article |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s41586-020-2688-8 |
| ORCIDs: | 0000-0002-1254-1256 , 0000-0002-2576-2429 , 0000-0002-5311-6213 , 0000-0001-6323-9041 , 0000-0001-7052-8554 , 0000-0002-0593-7906 , 0000-0001-7576-5380 , 0000-0002-8422-2369 , Renaud, Gabriel , 0000-0002-2744-7246 , 0000-0001-5068-8649 , 0000-0001-6398-2177 , 0000-0001-7306-031X , 0000-0003-1903-9573 , 0000-0002-4245-6298 , 0000-0002-9917-710X , 0000-0002-7076-2583 , 0000-0002-2725-4989 , 0000-0001-7335-7092 , 0000-0003-0513-6591 , 0000-0003-1829-0766 , 0000-0002-7081-6748 , 0000-0003-2818-8319 , 0000-0002-5025-2607 , 0000-0002-7291-8887 , 0000-0002-4585-4662 , 0000-0001-7885-7811 , 0000-0002-7568-4270 , 0000-0002-6389-9397 , 0000-0002-8994-1581 , 0000-0002-7134-7672 , 0000-0003-3936-1850 , 0000-0002-7771-5376 and 0000-0002-5805-7195 |
