Technical Information
The migrations of the barbarian peoples, their formation and social structure, the existence of a specific cultural identity and the interaction with the local population are among the most controversial themes of medieval European history. In search of innovative approaches, the third edition of the Meetings for Barbarian Archeology presented a large series of paleogenetic and isotopic data from Lombard necropolis of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Italy. An international research project has obtained the first sequences of the entire ancient genome (63 individuals), integrated with mitochondrial DNA and stable isotopes on mobility and diet. Other large-scale interdisciplinary projects focus on systematic isotope analyzes of entire extensive necropolises. The framework of genetic and isotopic investigations available on Barbaricum confirms the potential of coherent methods and wide-ranging dynamics. Surprising are the results, which make it possible to support the migration path of individuals with central-northern European genetic ancestry from Pannonia to Italy attributed by the texts written to the Lombards. The importance of biological relationships strongly emerges in the social structure of these highly mobile communities, composed of two main genetic groups: they correspond to a cultural specificity and a different social relevance and access to resources; large female mobility is assumed due to exogamy. New 'disruptive' data for a reinterpretation of old themes, now again relevant in view of a renewed knowledge.
In collaboration with SAMI, Società degli Archeologi Medievisti Italiani
