A major new archaeogenetic study has provided unprecedented insight into the people of the Southern Caucasus during the early medieval period. Researchers analysed ancient DNA from 230 individuals across 50 archaeological sites in present-day Georgia and Armenia. The resulting dataset spans nearly 5,000 years—from the Early Bronze Age to the Early Middle Ages—but its findings for the early medieval period offer a particularly rich picture of life in a politically contested and culturally dynamic region.
One of the most striking results is the persistence of a deep-rooted local gene pool through to the early medieval period, despite centuries of shifting political control and waves of cultural influence. “The persistence of a deeply rooted local gene pool through several shifts in material culture is exceptional,” says population geneticist Harald Ringbauer of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, who led the study. “This stands out compared to other regions across Western Eurasia, where many changes were linked to substantial movement of people.”
This continuity persisted through events such as the Christianisation of Iberia — here referring to the ancient kingdom situated in present-day eastern Georgia — in the early 4th century CE, the rivalry between the Roman-Byzantine and Sassanian empires, and repeated contact with nomadic groups from the Pontic Steppe. Yet alongside stability, the study also records episodes of notable mobility—particularly during the transition from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages (c. 250–800 CE). In this period, urban centres like Mtskheta and Samshvilde hosted individuals whose ancestry traced to Central Asia, the Levant, and Anatolia, pointing to the Caucasus’s role as a crossroads for trade, pilgrimage, and political alliances.
A practice from the steppes becomes local tradition
The Kingdom of Iberia in Antiquity – Wikimedia Commons
Artificial cranial deformation (ACD)—the deliberate reshaping of an infant’s skull—emerges as one of the most intriguing cultural markers of the period. Long associated with nomadic groups such as the Huns, Alans, and Avars, ACD appears frequently in early medieval burials in eastern Georgia, particularly in the Iberian Kingdom.
Lead author and geneticist Eirini Skourtanioti explains: “We identified numerous individuals with deformed skulls who were genetically Central Asian, and we even found direct genealogical links to the Avars and Huns. However, our analyses revealed that most of these individuals were locals, not migrants. This is a compelling example of the cultural adoption of a practice that was likely disseminated in the area by nomadic groups.”
The genetic evidence suggests that while the practice entered the region with steppe migrants, it was quickly taken up by local populations. Some cases even show direct kinship ties, such as a mother–daughter pair from Mtskheta, each with differently shaped cranial modifications, hinting at the transmission of the custom across generations. As Liana Bitadze, head of the Anthropological Research Laboratory at Tbilisi State University, notes, “Previously, we addressed this question through comparative morphometric analyses. Now, ancient DNA analysis has created a completely new line of evidence, helping us to reach more definitive answers.”
Melting pots and enclaves
The ruins of an 8th-century church in Samshvilde – photo by Lgabelia / Wikimedia Commons
The study also highlights the contrasting demographic patterns of urban and rural communities during the Migration Period. In major centres such as Mtskheta and Samshvilde—both important political and religious hubs—researchers found a high proportion of “ancestry outliers,” individuals whose genetic profiles marked them as newcomers from distant regions. These urban populations displayed significant genetic diversity and few close biological relationships between individuals, reflecting their role as gathering points for traders, pilgrims, and political envoys.
In rural areas, however, the picture was markedly different. Villages often showed signs of endogamy, with many inhabitants closely related to others in the same community. This pattern suggests that while cities were open to newcomers, the countryside maintained tighter, more insular social networks.
A key migration corridor
The genetic findings align with historical accounts describing the Caucasus Mountains as both a barrier and a gateway. The Darial Pass, in particular, served as a strategic corridor through which nomadic allies and adversaries alike could enter Iberia. Historical sources record multiple occasions when the Iberians allowed steppe groups such as the Alans to pass through, either to aid in warfare or to act as allies against other powers. The study’s detection of Central Asian ancestry in some individuals from as early as the late 3rd and 4th centuries CE suggests that such movements were more frequent and complex than the written record alone would indicate.
A frontier of continuity and change
By combining genome-wide data with archaeological and historical context, the study paints the Early Middle Ages in the Southern Caucasus as a period where long-standing local ancestry coexisted with episodic influxes of new people and ideas. Practices like cranial deformation illustrate how cultural traits could be introduced through migration and then integrated into local traditions, while the genetic diversity of urban centres shows the enduring role of the region as a meeting point between worlds.
As co-lead author Xiaowen Jia observes, “Historical sources mention how the Caucasus Mountains served both as a barrier and a corridor for migration during Late Antiquity. Our study shows that increased individual mobility was a key feature of the emerging urban centers in the region.”
The article, “The genetic history of the Southern Caucasus from the Bronze Age to the Early Middle Ages: 5,000 years of genetic continuity despite high mobility,” is published in Cell. Click here to read it.
Top Image: Mtskheta, the ancient capital of the Iberian Kingdom, and the confluence of the Kura and Aragvi rivers, about 20 kilometers north of Tbilisi, Georgia. Photo by Milan Tvrdý / Flickr
A major new archaeogenetic study has provided unprecedented insight into the people of the Southern Caucasus during the early medieval period. Researchers analysed ancient DNA from 230 individuals across 50 archaeological sites in present-day Georgia and Armenia. The resulting dataset spans nearly 5,000 years—from the Early Bronze Age to the Early Middle Ages—but its findings for the early medieval period offer a particularly rich picture of life in a politically contested and culturally dynamic region.
Published in Cell, the study was carried out by a team of scholars from Germany, Georgia, Armenia, and Norway, working for the Max Planck-Harvard Research Center for the Archaeoscience of the Ancient Mediterranean. They reconstructed population history at a level detailed enough to track both long-term trends and individual movements.
Continuity in a time of change
One of the most striking results is the persistence of a deep-rooted local gene pool through to the early medieval period, despite centuries of shifting political control and waves of cultural influence. “The persistence of a deeply rooted local gene pool through several shifts in material culture is exceptional,” says population geneticist Harald Ringbauer of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, who led the study. “This stands out compared to other regions across Western Eurasia, where many changes were linked to substantial movement of people.”
This continuity persisted through events such as the Christianisation of Iberia — here referring to the ancient kingdom situated in present-day eastern Georgia — in the early 4th century CE, the rivalry between the Roman-Byzantine and Sassanian empires, and repeated contact with nomadic groups from the Pontic Steppe. Yet alongside stability, the study also records episodes of notable mobility—particularly during the transition from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages (c. 250–800 CE). In this period, urban centres like Mtskheta and Samshvilde hosted individuals whose ancestry traced to Central Asia, the Levant, and Anatolia, pointing to the Caucasus’s role as a crossroads for trade, pilgrimage, and political alliances.
A practice from the steppes becomes local tradition
Artificial cranial deformation (ACD)—the deliberate reshaping of an infant’s skull—emerges as one of the most intriguing cultural markers of the period. Long associated with nomadic groups such as the Huns, Alans, and Avars, ACD appears frequently in early medieval burials in eastern Georgia, particularly in the Iberian Kingdom.
Lead author and geneticist Eirini Skourtanioti explains: “We identified numerous individuals with deformed skulls who were genetically Central Asian, and we even found direct genealogical links to the Avars and Huns. However, our analyses revealed that most of these individuals were locals, not migrants. This is a compelling example of the cultural adoption of a practice that was likely disseminated in the area by nomadic groups.”
The genetic evidence suggests that while the practice entered the region with steppe migrants, it was quickly taken up by local populations. Some cases even show direct kinship ties, such as a mother–daughter pair from Mtskheta, each with differently shaped cranial modifications, hinting at the transmission of the custom across generations. As Liana Bitadze, head of the Anthropological Research Laboratory at Tbilisi State University, notes, “Previously, we addressed this question through comparative morphometric analyses. Now, ancient DNA analysis has created a completely new line of evidence, helping us to reach more definitive answers.”
Melting pots and enclaves
The study also highlights the contrasting demographic patterns of urban and rural communities during the Migration Period. In major centres such as Mtskheta and Samshvilde—both important political and religious hubs—researchers found a high proportion of “ancestry outliers,” individuals whose genetic profiles marked them as newcomers from distant regions. These urban populations displayed significant genetic diversity and few close biological relationships between individuals, reflecting their role as gathering points for traders, pilgrims, and political envoys.
In rural areas, however, the picture was markedly different. Villages often showed signs of endogamy, with many inhabitants closely related to others in the same community. This pattern suggests that while cities were open to newcomers, the countryside maintained tighter, more insular social networks.
A key migration corridor
The genetic findings align with historical accounts describing the Caucasus Mountains as both a barrier and a gateway. The Darial Pass, in particular, served as a strategic corridor through which nomadic allies and adversaries alike could enter Iberia. Historical sources record multiple occasions when the Iberians allowed steppe groups such as the Alans to pass through, either to aid in warfare or to act as allies against other powers. The study’s detection of Central Asian ancestry in some individuals from as early as the late 3rd and 4th centuries CE suggests that such movements were more frequent and complex than the written record alone would indicate.
A frontier of continuity and change
By combining genome-wide data with archaeological and historical context, the study paints the Early Middle Ages in the Southern Caucasus as a period where long-standing local ancestry coexisted with episodic influxes of new people and ideas. Practices like cranial deformation illustrate how cultural traits could be introduced through migration and then integrated into local traditions, while the genetic diversity of urban centres shows the enduring role of the region as a meeting point between worlds.
As co-lead author Xiaowen Jia observes, “Historical sources mention how the Caucasus Mountains served both as a barrier and a corridor for migration during Late Antiquity. Our study shows that increased individual mobility was a key feature of the emerging urban centers in the region.”
The article, “The genetic history of the Southern Caucasus from the Bronze Age to the Early Middle Ages: 5,000 years of genetic continuity despite high mobility,” is published in Cell. Click here to read it.
Top Image: Mtskheta, the ancient capital of the Iberian Kingdom, and the confluence of the Kura and Aragvi rivers, about 20 kilometers north of Tbilisi, Georgia. Photo by Milan Tvrdý / Flickr
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