Population genomics of the Viking world
Loading...
Date
2019
Authors
Margaryan, Ashot
Lawson, Daniel
Potekhina, Inna
Sikora, Martin
Racimo, Fernando
Rasmussen, Simon
Moltke, Ida
Cassidy, Lara
Jørsboe, Emil
Ingason, Andrés
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
The Viking maritime expansion from Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway, and Sweden) marks one
of the swiftest and most far-flung cultural transformations in global history. During this time
(c. 750 to 1050 CE), the Vikings reached most of western Eurasia, Greenland, and North
America, and left a cultural legacy that persists till today. To understand the genetic structure
and influence of the Viking expansion, we sequenced the genomes of 442 ancient humans from
across Europe and Greenland ranging from the Bronze Age (c. 2400 BC) to the early Modern
period (c. 1600 CE), with particular emphasis on the Viking Age. We find that the period
preceding the Viking Age was accompanied by foreign gene flow into Scandinavia from the
south and east: spreading from Denmark and eastern Sweden to the rest of Scandinavia.
Despite the close linguistic similarities of modern Scandinavian languages, we observe genetic
structure within Scandinavia, suggesting that regional population differences were already
present 1,000 years ago. We find evidence for a majority of Danish Viking presence in England,
Swedish Viking presence in the Baltic, and Norwegian Viking presence in Ireland, Iceland, and
Greenland. Additionally, we see substantial foreign European ancestry entering Scandinavia
during the Viking Age. We also find that several of the members of the only archaeologically
well-attested Viking expedition were close family members. By comparing Viking Scandinavian
genomes with present-day Scandinavian genomes, we find that pigmentation-associated loci
have undergone strong population differentiation during the last millennia. Finally, we are able
to trace the allele frequency dynamics of positively selected loci with unprecedented detail,
including the lactase persistence allele and various alleles associated with the immune response.
We conclude that the Viking diaspora was characterized by substantial foreign engagement:
distinct Viking populations influenced the genomic makeup of different regions of Europe,
while Scandinavia also experienced increased contact with the rest of the continent.
Description
Keywords
Viking Age, Scandinavian, genetic composition, preprint
Citation
Population genomics of the Viking world : [preprint] / Ashot Margaryan, Daniel Lawson [...], Inna Potekhina [et al.].