Demography and life histories across the Roman frontier in Germany 400–700 ce
Abstract
Abstract The emergence of new political and social structures in Western and Central Europe during the transition from Antiquity to the Middle Ages has long been attributed to large-scale migrations. Yet emerging evidence increasingly emphasizes the role of small-group mobility in reshaping the Roman world 1–3 . Here we present 258 ancient genomes from the former Roman frontier of southern Germany, which we analyse alongside 2,500 ancient and 379 modern genomes. Population genetic analyses reveal a major demographic shift coinciding with the late fifth century collapse of Roman state structures, when a founding population of northern European ancestry mixed with genetically diverse Roman provincial groups. Pedigree reconstruction and filia, a method for inferring the ancestry of unsampled relatives, indicate widespread intermarriage and minimal cultural differentiation. Genetic structure persisted through the sixth century, with admixture forming a population resembling modern Central Europeans by the early seventh century. Using Chronograph to refine the chronology of genealogically linked individuals, we estimate a generation time of 28 years, life expectancies of 39.8 years for women and 43.3 years for men, high infant mortality, and a society in which nearly one quarter of children lost at least one parent by age 10, yet most still grew up with grandparents. Pedigrees further reveal a society centred on nuclear families that practiced lifelong monogamy, strict incest avoidance, flexible lineage continuation and no levirate unions, indicating continuity with Late Roman social practices that later shaped the European family.
Article Details
Authors (58)
Jens Blöcher
Leonardo Vallini
Maren Velte
Raphael Eckel
Léa Guyon
Laura Winkelbach
Mark G. Thomas
Nadia Gharehbaghi
Cassandra T. Mitchell
Jonas Schümann
Sophie Köhler
Elsa Seyr
Katharina Krichel
Sophie Rau
Jana Hirsch
Jana Duras
Paul Cloarec-Pioffet
Andreas Füglistaler
Kristin Klement
Miriam Wilkenhöner
Lisa Vetterdietz
Francesca Gentilin
Melany Müller
Anna-Lena Mücke
Nicoletta Zedda
Youssef Tawfik
Eveline Saal
George McGlynn
Barbara Bramanti
Jörg Orschiedt
Regina Molitor
Barbara Fliß
Ines Spazier
David Shankland
Claus Vetterling
Kurt Karpf
Vera Planert
Stefan Hölzl
Silvia Codreanu-Windauer
Dieter Quast
Ilija Mikić
Sven Fiedler
Bernd Päffgen
Maxime Brami
Thomas Richter
Raphaëlle Chaix
Susanne Brather-Walter
Peter Steffens
Markus Marquart
Thomas Becker
Jochen Haberstroh
Mischa Meier
Sebastian Schmidt-Hofner
Sebastian Brather
Michaela Harbeck
Steffen Patzold
Daniel Wegmann
Joachim Burger