Genetic markers in the Hungarian population: Then and now
Due to the scarcity of written sources the origin of Hungarians has been the object of passionate debate among historians, archeologists, and linguists. Lately they were joined by geneticists. With the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003, genetic mapping of ethnic groups became much easier, cheaper and therefore more widely carried out. István Raskó, head of a group of geneticists at the University of Szeged, gave his first lecture on the subject in the popular "Mindentudás Egyeteme" (
University of All Knowledge) in 2004. He outlined the group's research on the DNA composition of human remains from graves dating to the early tenth century.
On the basis of their findings the Szeged reseachers came to the conclusion that the number of invaders was most likely very small because even in these very early graves only 36% of the people had markers indicating Asiatic origin. Fifty percent of them were of purely European origin, and their DNA composition indicated that their ancestors had lived in Europe for at least 40-50,000 years. By now this Asiatic element has almost disappeared: 84% of Hungarians are totally of European origin and only 16% carry Asiatic markers. One ought to keep in mind that in the thirteenth century the Cumans, a decidedly Asiatic tribe, fleeing the Mongol onslaught, sought refuge in Hungary. The Cumans (or in Hungarian the "kunok") settled in one bloc south of Budapest on the left bank of the Danube, that is, the Great Plains. Their opportunity to intermarry with non-Cumans was somewhat limited. Even in the second half of the twentieth century one could find Hungarians who bore a close resemblance to their Asiatic relatives.
The occasion for the topic surfacing in the popular press is an exhibition that just opened in the Museum of Natural Science. It is entitled "The Genetic Family Tree of Our People." The exhibit relies heavily on the research of István Raskó and his fellow scientists in Szeged. As a result of their research there are many new discoveries and also the "reaffirmation" of earlier held views. About a hundred years ago it was commonly believed that the richer graves contained the remains of the newcomers who ruled over the local Slavic population while the simpler graves contained the bones of the local common people. That theory was replaced in the 1950s by one that claimed that even in the simplest graves less well-off Asiatic newcomers could be found. Now DNA research has at last put an end to the debate. The DNA found in the modest graves is practically identical to the make-up of the present-day Hungarian population. In brief, the earlier theory was correct. Moreover this research offers further proof that the newcomers were very few in number.
I must say that this finding surprised me because I, simply using common sense, figured that if the size of the invading group was very small and the population of the occupied territories large then it would be logical to assume that the invaders would soon be absorbed by the local population. Moreover, I figured, their language would be supplanted for the most part by that of the locals. Anyone who was thinking along these lines was obviously wrong.
For some strange reason the linguistic and cultural influence of this small group was important beyond its size while their genetic components pretty well disappeared.
And that leads us to the linguistic debate. As you most likely know by now, the Hungarian extreme right is very dissatisfied with the universally held belief in the Finno-Ugric linguistic relationship.
The Szeged group's findings prove that Finns, Estonians, and Hungarians are related even genetically. Although this genetic relationship cannot be established by examining the present populations, the study of the contents of the richer tenth-century graves without exception showed a close relationship with the Finno-Ugric groups (based on an analysis of their Y-chromosomes).
Hungarian Genetics - DNA of Hungary's Magyar people
The Hungarian self-designation is Magyar. The early Magyars arrived in the land of Hungary from the east in the 9th century. At one time they were in alliance with the
Khazars.
The original Magyar genetic contributions have become very diluted over the centuries due in large part to intermarriage with European tribes. This means that the modern Hungarian people are only somewhat descended from the ancient Magyars whose language they speak.
Y-DNA haplogroup frequencies differ markedly between regions of Hungary, so I can't really give a detailed summary that applies to all Hungarians, except to say that many Hungarians belong to haplogroups in the
R1a family that's associated with the early
Indo-Europeans and their other Y-DNA haplogroups are also found among their neighbors the Austrians and
Slovaks.
There are some Hungarian villages where the inhabitants possess small frequencies of Y-DNA haplogroups from Central Asia and Northern Asia such as those in the N, Q, and C families.
According to The ALlele FREquency Database compiled by Kenneth K. Kidd of Yale University,
1.7% of the 176 Hungarian people studied carry at least one 1540C allele in the EDAR (rs3827760) gene where CC causes straighter and thicker hair and shovel-shaped incisors. C is of East Asian origin.
According to The ALlele FREquency Database,
5.1% of the 176 Hungarian people studied carry at least one T allele in the R151C (rs1805007) gene where TT always causes red hair.
A particular Szekler from central Transylvania scores 0.9% East Asian in
23andMe's autosomal DNA test, of which 0.4% of that is interpreted as similar to Yakuts. Thanks to the Anthrogenica user "Dorkymon" for posting that to
this thread.
According to the Q-L712 Focus Group at Family Tree DNA, many Szeklers have the Y-DNA haplogroup Q-L712 (Q1a1b1) and it is suggested that it may be of Hunnic origin.
