Analysis of maternal lineage structure of individuals from chamber graves placed in medieval cemetery in Kałdus, Central Poland.

Abstract

The beginning of the early Middle Ages period in Poland (10^th-14^th century) has been widely debated in the context of an active demographic inflow from other countries and its contribution to the creation of the new country. Finding chamber graves which are considered typical for the Scandinavian ethnic group in a few cemeteries in Poland has become the basis for the anthropological inference on the potential participation of North European people in forming the social elite of medieval Poland. However, the question of whether this fact was the result of presence of people from other countries lacks an unambiguous answer. We attempted to isolate ancient DNA from the medieval necropolis in Kałdus where several chamber graves have been found and analysed the genetic diversity of maternal lineage of this population. We analysed the HVR I fragment and coding regions to assess the mitochondrial DNA haplogroup. We have identified a few relatively rare haplogroups (A2, T2b4a, HV, K1a11, J2b1a, and X2) which were previously found in early medieval sites in Norway and Denmark. Obtained results might suggest genetic relation between the people of Kałdus and past northern Europe populations. Present and further research can undoubtedly shed new light on the aspect of the formation of the early medieval Polish population.