title: Lombards on the move--an integrative study of the migration period cemetery at Szólád, Hungary.
abstract: In 2005 to 2007 45 skeletons of adults and subadults were excavated at the Lombard period cemetery at Szólád (6th century A.D.), Hungary. Embedded into the well-recorded historical context, the article presents the results obtained by an integrative investigation including anthropological, molecular genetic and isotopic (δ(15)N, δ(13)C, (87)Sr/(86)Sr) analyses. Skeletal stress markers as well as traces of interpersonal violence were found to occur frequently. The mitochondrial DNA profiles revealed a heterogeneous spectrum of lineages that belong to the haplogroups H, U, J, HV, T2, I, and K, which are common in present-day Europe and in the Near East, while N1a and N1b are today quite rare. Evidence of possible direct maternal kinship was identified in only three pairs of individuals. According to enamel strontium isotope ratios, at least 31% of the individuals died at a location other than their birthplace and/or had moved during childhood. Based on the peculiar 87 Sr/86 Sr ratio distribution between females, males, and subadults in comparison to local vegetation and soil samples, we propose a three-phase model of group movement. An initial patrilocal group with narrower male but wider female Sr isotope distribution settled at Szólád, whilst the majority of subadults represented in the cemetery yielded a distinct Sr isotope signature. Owing to the virtual absence of Szólád-born adults in the cemetery, we may conclude that the settlement was abandoned after approx. one generation. Population heterogeneity is furthermore supported by the carbon and nitrogen isotope data. They indicate that a group of high-ranking men had access to larger shares of animal-derived food whilst a few individuals consumed remarkable amounts of millet. The inferred dynamics of the burial community are in agreement with hypotheses of a highly mobile lifestyle during the Migration Period and a short-term occupation of Pannonia by Lombard settlers as conveyed by written sources.
authors.affiliation: Center for Natural and Cultural History of the Teeth, Danube Private University, Krems, Austria; State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt and State Museum of Prehistory, Halle, Germany; Institute for Prehistory and Archaeological Science, Basel University, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Kurt W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Alt
authors.affiliation: Curt Engelhorn Centre Archaeometry gGmbH, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Corina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Knipper
authors.affiliation: Institut für Prähistorische Archäologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.affiliation: Laboratório Hercules, Universidade de Évora, Évora, Portugal.
authors.forename: Anne-France
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Maurer
authors.affiliation: State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt and State Museum of Prehistory, Halle, Germany.
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kollig
authors.affiliation: Center for Natural and Cultural History of the Teeth, Danube Private University, Krems, Austria; State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt and State Museum of Prehistory, Halle, Germany; Institute for Prehistory and Archaeological Science, Basel University, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nicklisch
authors.affiliation: Institute of Anthropology, University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Christiane
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.affiliation: Institute of Anthropology, University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karimnia
authors.affiliation: Institute of Anthropology, University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Brandt
authors.affiliation: Institute of Anthropology, University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Roth
authors.affiliation: IsoAnalysis UG, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rosner
authors.affiliation: Archaeological Institute, Research Centre for Humanities, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Balász
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mende
authors.affiliation: Institute of Geosciences, University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Bernd R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Schöne
authors.affiliation: Department of Prehistory and Protohistory, Eötvös Loránd University of Budapest, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Tivadar
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vida
authors.affiliation: German Archaeological Institute, Roman Germanic Commission, Frankfurt a. M., Germany.
authors.forename: Uta
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: von Freeden
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D055699:Cemeteries / Q000266:history; D003094:Collagen / Q000737:chemistry; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000032:analysis; D003743:Dental Enamel / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D049691:History, Medieval; D063426:Human Migration; D006801:Humans; D006814:Hungary; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009587:Nitrogen Isotopes / Q000737:chemistry; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013325:Strontium Isotopes / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D009587:Nitrogen Isotopes; D013325:Strontium Isotopes; D003094:Collagen