The aim of this study is to present a full characterization and catalogue of the graves of the early medieval inhumation necropolis that was recently found at the edge of the loess uplands in the ...western part of Małopolska (Lesser Poland) – specifically, in Grodowice, Kazimierza Wielka district. The second aim is to determine the matrilineal genetic structure and to present the first medieval population-level human DNA study from Małopolska. The necropolis, which was excavated in 2005-2008 at site 1, is situated in an open field on the culmination of a broad, flat hill being part of a longitudinal range of hills separating the valleys of two larger rivers – namely, the Nidzica and Młyńska. The excavations resulted in the discovery of 35 inhumation graves, partly arranged in regular rows, dating to the early medieval period. The deceased were placed mostly in regular pits with their heads to the west. Very few traces of wooden coffins were recorded. 32 skeletons were classified in anthropological analysis. They present all age classes: Infans/Juvenis (13 graves), Juvenis/Adultus (8 graves, incl. 3 females and 3 males), Adultus/Maturus (9 graves, incl. 3 females and 3 males), and Senilis (1 grave). Various pathological changes and injuries were recorded: teeth plaque, enamel hypoplasia, caries, spine and long bone degenerations, cribra orbitalia, Schmorl’s nodes. Thirteen mtDNA sequences were made which encompass almost the entire range of Western Eurasian macro-haplogroups. Artefacts were recorded in 11 graves, such as: temple rings, coins, finger rings, beads, and coins. They occurred in female, male, and child graves alike. The cemetery at Grodowice, like the majority of inhumation cemeteries in Małopolska, was probably founded in the second half or towards the end of the 10th century. Graves with coins indicate that it still functioned in the late 11th century. It cannot be ruled out that the Grodowice necropolis ceased to function as a result of the construction of churches in nearby Kazimierza Mała (probably as early as in the 11th century) and Bejsce (12th century or the first half of the 13th century).
The genetic composition of the medieval populations of Central Europe, Poland in particular, has been poorly investigated to date. Although a few DNA datasets from Poland have been published ...recently, no large-scale ancient DNA study on medieval populations has hitherto been reported. This paper reports the study of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and presents the first population-level human DNA study from Lesser Poland by establishing mitochondrial DNA profiles for 13 samples from the Grodowice cemetery dated to the Medieval Period (11th to mid-13th century). The medieval sequences encompass almost the entire range of Western Eurasian macro-haplogroups: H, J, U. Interestingly, there is one sample which belongs to the Asian haplogroup G. aDNA sequences were compared with a dataset of 35,203 present-day sequences of the HVR I region of mtDNA including European, Near Eastern, and Asian populations, as well as 775 ancient sequences. Analyses of population genetics were performed, including genetic distances (FST), multidimensional scaling (MDS), principal component analysis (PCA) and shared haplotype analysis (SHA). The shared haplotype analysis (SHA) showed that the medieval population from Grodowice shares the majority of haplotypes with the medieval populations from the contact-zones of today’s Slovakia and Croatia (53.85%) as well as with Hungarian conquerors (46.15%).
PDF
