A long-awaited answer arrived after 200 years: an international research project investigating the DNA of prehistoric humans included a contribution from an archaeologist at the Déri Museum.
Where does the Indo-European language family originate? This question has been the focus of an international research team that analyzed the DNA of 435 prehistoric individuals from more than 100 Eurasian sites dating between 6400 and 2000 BCE. The study, published on February 5, 2025, in Nature, one of the world’s leading scientific journals, brings scientists closer to resolving this two-century-old debate. According to the latest genetic findings, a newly identified prehistoric population from the Caucasus and Lower Volga region is connected to all communities that use Indo-European languages, explained Kriszta Dallos-Nagy.
The research was led by Iosif Lazaridis, Nick Patterson, and David Reich (Harvard University, Howard Hughes Medical Institute), Ron Pinhasi (University of Vienna), David Anthony (Hartwick College, Oneonta), and Leonid Vyazov (University of Ostrava, Czech Republic) with contributions from 128 co-authors, incorporating key Hungarian finds.
Significance of Carpathian Basin Data
Genetic samples from Hungary were sourced from burial mounds dating to the late 4th and early 3rd millennia BCE, uncovered over the past 60 years in regions such as Sárrétudvari, Dévaványa, Kunhegyes, Nagyhegyes, and Mezőcsát. These samples confirmed genetic connections to Eastern European populations. The analysis was conducted at the HUN-REN BTK Institute of Archaeogenomics, as well as at universities in Vienna and Harvard.
Hungarian Researchers and Institutions Involved:
- HUN-REN BTK Institute of Archaeogenomics: Szécsényi-Nagy Anna
- HUN-REN BTK Institute of Archaeology: Kulcsár Gabriella, Kiss Viktória, Melis Eszter
- ELTE TTK Department of Anthropology: Hajdu Tamás
- University of Szeged, Department of Archaeology/Déri Museum, Debrecen: Dani János
- University of Szeged, Department of Anthropology: Bereczki Zsolt, Molnár Erika, Pálfi György
- Damjanich János Museum, Szolnok: Csányi Marietta, Tárnoki Judit
- Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest: Évinger Sándor
Photo: Left – Excavated Yamnaya burial; Right – Spread of the Yamnaya culture.
