Unveiling the Origins and Genetic Makeup of the 'Forgotten People': A Study of the Sarmatian-Period Population in the Carpathian Basin

Oszkár Schütz; Zoltán Maróti; Balázs Tihanyi; Attila P. Kiss; Emil Nyerki; Alexandra Gînguță; Petra Kiss; Gergely I. B. Varga; Bence Kovács; Kitti Maár; Bernadett Ny. Kovacsóczy; Nikoletta Lukács; István Major; Antónia Marcsik; Eszter Patyi; Anna Szigeti; Zoltán Tóth; Dorottya Walter; Gábor Wilhelm; Réka Csuvár-Andrási; Zsolt Bernert; Luca Kis; Liana Oţa; György Pálfi; Gábor Pintye; Dániel Pópity; Angela Simalcsik; Andrei Soficaru; Olga Spekker; Sandor L. Varga

doi:10.1016/j.cell.2025.05.009

GeneticsCellJun 10, 2025

Peer-reviewed journal article

Unveiling the Origins and Genetic Makeup of the 'Forgotten People': A Study of the Sarmatian-Period Population in the Carpathian Basin

Oszkár Schütz iD, Zoltán Maróti iD, Balázs Tihanyi iD, Attila P. Kiss iD, Emil Nyerki iD, Alexandra Gînguță iD, Petra Kiss iD, Gergely I. B. Varga iD, Bence Kovács iD, Kitti Maár iD, Bernadett Ny. Kovacsóczy, Nikoletta Lukács iD, István Major iD, Antónia Marcsik iD, Eszter Patyi iD, Anna Szigeti iD, Zoltán Tóth, Dorottya Walter iD, Gábor Wilhelm, Réka Csuvár-Andrási iD, Zsolt Bernert iD, Luca Kis iD, Liana Oţa iD, György Pálfi iD, Gábor Pintye iD, , Tibor Tőrők iD

Abstract

SO_SCPLOWUMMARYC_SCPLOWThe nomadic Sarmatians dominated the Pontic Steppe from 3rd century BCE and the Great Hungarian Plain from 50 CE until the Huns 4th-century expansion. In this study, we present the first large-scale genetic analysis of 156 genomes from 1st- to 5th-century Hungary and the Carpathian foothills. Our findings reveal minor East Asian ancestry in the Carpathian Basin (CB) Sarmatians, distinguishing them from other regional populations. Using F4-statistics, qpAdm, and IBD analysis, we show that CB Sarmatians descended from Steppe Sarmatians originating in the Ural and Kazakhstan regions, with Romanian Sarmatians serving as a genetic bridge between the two groups. We also identify two previously unknown migration waves during the Sarmatian era and a notable continuity of the Sarmatian population into the Hunnic period, despite a smaller influx of Asian-origin individuals. These results shed new light on Sarmatian migrations and the genetic history of a key population neighbouring the Roman Empire.

PDF DOI