How the Slavic Migration Reshaped Central and Eastern Europe

Summary

How the Slavic migration reshaped Central and Eastern Europe Genetic analyses of medieval human remains reveal large-scale migrations, regional diversity, and new insights into early medieval communities Excavation in 2020 at the pre-Slavic cemetery of Brücken, Mansfeld-Südharz District (Saxony-Anhalt). © Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt Excavation in 2020 at the pre-Slavic cemetery of Brücken, Mansfeld-Südharz District (Saxony-Anhalt). © Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt To the pointDramatic population change: Analysis of genome-wide data from more than 550 ancient individuals demonstrates that, during the 6th-8th centuries CE, Eastern Germany, Poland/Ukraine, and the Northern Balkans experienced a major shift in ancestry, with over 80 percent originating from eastern European newcomers.Support from other analysis: An independent study of 18 genomes from the South Moravian region linked to one of the first Slavic-speaking polities confirms this pattern.Regional differences: While genetic turnover was nearly complete in the north, regions like the Balkans saw more mixing between Eastern European incomers and local communities. This diversity of ancestries persists until today in the modern populations of these areas.Integration, not conquest: Genetic evidence shows no sex bias in the migration—entire families and communities seemed to have moved and integrated, rather than just male warriors.Flexible social structure: In Eastern Germany, the migrants brought a new way of social organization, visible in the formation of large patrilinear pedigrees—a stark contrast to the much smaller family units typical of the preceding Migration Period. Meanwhile, in Croatia, early immigrant communities appear to have maintained more traditional or regionally continuous social structures, with less dramatic changes from the patterns seen before the demographic shift.The spread of the Slavs stands as one of the most formative yet le...