What can the DNA of people who lived more than 1,200 years ago tell us about the Middle Ages? A major European research project examining 7,700 early medieval burials is revealing new details about migration, family relationships, disease and everyday life. Its findings are now being brought together in a new exhibition in Vienna.
The exhibition, GENchangers: Decoded Secrets from Early Medieval Burial Sites, opened today at the Natural History Museum Vienna. It presents the results of HistoGenes, an international research project that has been investigating the population history of Central and Eastern Europe between AD 400 and 900.
This was a period of major transformations, including the collapse of Roman rule in Western Europe, the arrival of the Huns and Avars, the expansion of Slavic-speaking populations and the emergence of new medieval kingdoms. Historians have long relied on written accounts and archaeological discoveries to understand these developments. Now, ancient DNA is providing another way to investigate what happened.
HistoGenes began in 2020 with funding of approximately €10 million from the European Research Council. Coordinated through the Austrian Academy of Sciences, it brings together researchers specialising in history, archaeology, anthropology, genetics and related disciplines.
The project has examined approximately 7,700 burials from around 100 cemeteries across Central and Eastern Europe. Its geographical focus includes the Carpathian Basin, particularly modern Hungary, as well as Austria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Serbia, Romania and neighbouring regions.
The scale of the research is important. Earlier genetic studies often examined a small number of individuals from numerous archaeological sites. HistoGenes has instead sought to investigate entire burial grounds wherever possible, allowing researchers to reconstruct individual communities and their relationships over generations.
By combining genetic evidence with archaeological objects, skeletal remains, radiocarbon dating and historical sources, researchers can investigate questions that written records rarely answer. These include where people found marriage partners, how families were organised, whether individuals moved between communities, and how populations responded to disease and political upheaval.
In some cemeteries, scientists have been able to reconstruct family trees extending across six or more generations.
Two Communities, Different Ancestry, Similar Cultures
Among the project’s most striking discoveries comes from two Avar-period cemeteries at Leobersdorf and Mödling, located south of Vienna.
The Avars entered the Carpathian Basin in AD 567–568 and established a powerful political system that lasted until around AD 800. Their society incorporated populations of different origins, including people descended from Roman provincial communities and Germanic- and Slavic-speaking groups.
A genetic study published in Nature in 2025 examined the two burial grounds and revealed an unexpected contrast.
At Leobersdorf, the eighth-century population was predominantly of East Asian ancestry. At Mödling, however, the inhabitants had European ancestry. Despite this genetic difference, both communities followed remarkably similar cultural practices, including the use of comparable clothing accessories and burial customs.
The distinction would have been difficult to recognise from archaeological evidence alone. Walter Pohl, a historian at the Austrian Academy of Sciences and one of the leaders of HistoGenes, described the finding as particularly significant. “Culture is not biologically determined,” he explained during the exhibition’s press conference.
The results challenge the assumption that people sharing the same material culture necessarily belonged to a population with common biological ancestry. They also demonstrate the difficulties of assigning ethnic identities to individuals solely on the basis of grave goods or genetic evidence.
The findings suggest that cultural integration could take place without extensive intermarriage between neighbouring populations.
Other HistoGenes studies have investigated the population movements that reshaped Europe during the centuries following the decline of Roman power. One important question concerns the origins of the Huns, whose empire under Attila dominated parts of Central Europe during the fifth century.
Genetic research has identified individuals from the Hunnic period with ancestry connected to the ruling elite of the Xiongnu Empire, which existed in the region of present-day Mongolia centuries earlier.
However, the researchers also found that the broader genetic contribution of populations arriving from the east during the Hunnic period was relatively limited. Despite the Huns’ prominence in historical accounts, their political dominance did not necessarily produce a lasting transformation of the region’s population.
The Avars present a different picture. HistoGenes research has established that a substantial group migrated from eastern Central Asia to the Carpathian Basin, travelling more than 7,000 kilometres. The movement included numerous women, indicating that it was not simply a military expedition involving male warriors.
The newcomers established themselves among existing populations and gradually participated in processes of political and cultural integration.
The project has also examined the expansion of Slavic populations between the sixth and eighth centuries. For generations, historians have debated whether the spread of Slavic languages and cultures resulted primarily from population movements or from existing inhabitants adopting new identities.
A major genetic study published in Nature in 2025 found evidence of substantial migrations from northeastern Europe, alongside varying degrees of mixing with populations already living in the regions where Slavic communities emerged.
Taken together, these studies suggest that there was no single pattern of migration and integration during the early Middle Ages. Some ruling groups left relatively limited genetic traces, while other movements produced more enduring changes in population structure.
HistoGenes has also produced important evidence concerning the first plague pandemic, commonly known as the Justinianic Plague. Beginning in AD 541, the pandemic affected the Mediterranean world and continued through successive outbreaks. Written sources describe devastating mortality, particularly in parts of the Byzantine Empire. Until recently, however, the extent of the disease’s impact on populations farther north and east was much less clear.
According to the project’s latest summary, researchers have identified dozens of plague victims from the pandemic’s first phase in three burial grounds located in the modern Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. These findings provide evidence that the disease reached communities beyond the Mediterranean regions most frequently described in historical accounts.
Despite the substantial mortality indicated by the discoveries, the researchers report that all three affected communities survived. The results offer an opportunity to investigate how early medieval populations responded to epidemic disease and whether family and community structures continued after major losses.
While the movements of kings, armies and peoples dominate many accounts of the early Middle Ages, HistoGenes places considerable emphasis on ordinary individuals. Ancient DNA allows researchers to identify biological relationships among people buried in the same cemetery. When combined with archaeological and anthropological evidence, these relationships can reveal how communities organised themselves.
At some sites, researchers have identified families spanning several generations, with relatives buried near one another. The evidence also suggests that marriage partners were frequently sought outside close kinship groups. Women often arrived from other communities, while family connections helped maintain continuity over long periods.
The exhibition includes the example of a girl aged approximately six to eight whose family tree can be traced across more than six generations.
Margit Berner, an anthropologist at the Natural History Museum Vienna and a HistoGenes research group leader, explained that the investigations have provided a new picture of earlier societies.
The findings also challenge assumptions about constant warfare during the so-called Migration Period. In some communities, skeletal remains show relatively few injuries, suggesting that inhabitants experienced long periods of relative peace.
According to Berner, some populations appear to have lived in this way for approximately 150 years.
These discoveries help shift attention away from the political upheavals described in medieval chronicles and towards the experiences of people who maintained families, raised children and established communities during these centuries.
The new exhibition at the Natural History Museum Vienna is organised around the burial grounds at Leobersdorf and Mödling. A circular central display presents the findings from both cemeteries, while an interactive touchscreen allows visitors to investigate the communities in greater detail. Eight surrounding stations examine major themes: cultural identity and genetics, nutrition, childhood, biological kinship, health and disease, mobility, society and material culture.
Illustrations reconstruct aspects of daily life in the early medieval Carpathian Basin, including changing seasons and everyday activities. Where the evidence is uncertain, the displays deliberately avoid presenting speculative details as established facts.
Visitors can also learn about the methods used by archaeologists, historians, anthropologists and geneticists. Hands-on activities include examining evidence of bone fractures and discovering how different scientific approaches contribute to the reconstruction of the past.
The exhibition is accompanied by guided tours and lectures addressing subjects such as the Avars, early medieval clothing and the history of plague. The broader aim is to demonstrate how the combination of several disciplines can reveal aspects of the past that no single method could uncover.
For HistoGenes, one of the most important conclusions is that the history of early medieval Europe cannot be explained simply through the movements of clearly defined peoples. Genetic ancestry, political affiliation and cultural identity did not always coincide, and communities could preserve their traditions while incorporating people from different backgrounds.
A Children’s Book About Uncovering the Past
The exhibition is also accompanied by a new children’s book, Das Glasperlenteam, which introduces younger readers to the scientific methods used to investigate early medieval history. Its full title translates as The Glass Bead Team, or How Different Professions Work Together to Unravel the Mysteries of the Past.
Created by Ingrid Hartl, a project coordinator at the Austrian Academy of Sciences who works with HistoGenes, and illustrator Anna Stemmer-Dvorak, the book uses the discovery of a glass bead from an early medieval burial to explain how historical research works. It is intended for readers aged nine and older.
Different specialists examine the object from their own perspectives, gradually contributing pieces of evidence to a larger picture. As new information becomes available, interpretations change and become more precise. The book introduces children to archaeology and other scientific professions while emphasising the importance of cooperation between disciplines.
GENchangers: Decoded Secrets from Early Medieval Burial Sites runs from 14 October 2026 to 26 July 2027 at the Natural History Museum Vienna. You can learn more from the museum’s website.
Ein Ausstellungstipp für alle Geschichtsfans: Wie vielfältig war das Leben im Frühmittelalter wirklich? Alte DNA liefert überraschende Antworten! 🧬 Zu entdecken ab heute in der Ausstellung „GENchangers“ im @nhmwien.bsky.social, mit Forschung der #ÖAW. www.oeaw.ac.at/news/alte-dn…
What can the DNA of people who lived more than 1,200 years ago tell us about the Middle Ages? A major European research project examining 7,700 early medieval burials is revealing new details about migration, family relationships, disease and everyday life. Its findings are now being brought together in a new exhibition in Vienna.
The exhibition, GENchangers: Decoded Secrets from Early Medieval Burial Sites, opened today at the Natural History Museum Vienna. It presents the results of HistoGenes, an international research project that has been investigating the population history of Central and Eastern Europe between AD 400 and 900.
This was a period of major transformations, including the collapse of Roman rule in Western Europe, the arrival of the Huns and Avars, the expansion of Slavic-speaking populations and the emergence of new medieval kingdoms. Historians have long relied on written accounts and archaeological discoveries to understand these developments. Now, ancient DNA is providing another way to investigate what happened.
Investigating 7,700 Early Medieval Burials
HistoGenes began in 2020 with funding of approximately €10 million from the European Research Council. Coordinated through the Austrian Academy of Sciences, it brings together researchers specialising in history, archaeology, anthropology, genetics and related disciplines.
The project has examined approximately 7,700 burials from around 100 cemeteries across Central and Eastern Europe. Its geographical focus includes the Carpathian Basin, particularly modern Hungary, as well as Austria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Serbia, Romania and neighbouring regions.
The scale of the research is important. Earlier genetic studies often examined a small number of individuals from numerous archaeological sites. HistoGenes has instead sought to investigate entire burial grounds wherever possible, allowing researchers to reconstruct individual communities and their relationships over generations.
By combining genetic evidence with archaeological objects, skeletal remains, radiocarbon dating and historical sources, researchers can investigate questions that written records rarely answer. These include where people found marriage partners, how families were organised, whether individuals moved between communities, and how populations responded to disease and political upheaval.
In some cemeteries, scientists have been able to reconstruct family trees extending across six or more generations.
Two Communities, Different Ancestry, Similar Cultures
Among the project’s most striking discoveries comes from two Avar-period cemeteries at Leobersdorf and Mödling, located south of Vienna.
The Avars entered the Carpathian Basin in AD 567–568 and established a powerful political system that lasted until around AD 800. Their society incorporated populations of different origins, including people descended from Roman provincial communities and Germanic- and Slavic-speaking groups.
A genetic study published in Nature in 2025 examined the two burial grounds and revealed an unexpected contrast.
At Leobersdorf, the eighth-century population was predominantly of East Asian ancestry. At Mödling, however, the inhabitants had European ancestry. Despite this genetic difference, both communities followed remarkably similar cultural practices, including the use of comparable clothing accessories and burial customs.
The distinction would have been difficult to recognise from archaeological evidence alone. Walter Pohl, a historian at the Austrian Academy of Sciences and one of the leaders of HistoGenes, described the finding as particularly significant. “Culture is not biologically determined,” he explained during the exhibition’s press conference.
The results challenge the assumption that people sharing the same material culture necessarily belonged to a population with common biological ancestry. They also demonstrate the difficulties of assigning ethnic identities to individuals solely on the basis of grave goods or genetic evidence.
The findings suggest that cultural integration could take place without extensive intermarriage between neighbouring populations.
The Huns, Avars and Slavic Migrations
Other HistoGenes studies have investigated the population movements that reshaped Europe during the centuries following the decline of Roman power. One important question concerns the origins of the Huns, whose empire under Attila dominated parts of Central Europe during the fifth century.
Genetic research has identified individuals from the Hunnic period with ancestry connected to the ruling elite of the Xiongnu Empire, which existed in the region of present-day Mongolia centuries earlier.
However, the researchers also found that the broader genetic contribution of populations arriving from the east during the Hunnic period was relatively limited. Despite the Huns’ prominence in historical accounts, their political dominance did not necessarily produce a lasting transformation of the region’s population.
The Avars present a different picture. HistoGenes research has established that a substantial group migrated from eastern Central Asia to the Carpathian Basin, travelling more than 7,000 kilometres. The movement included numerous women, indicating that it was not simply a military expedition involving male warriors.
The newcomers established themselves among existing populations and gradually participated in processes of political and cultural integration.
The project has also examined the expansion of Slavic populations between the sixth and eighth centuries. For generations, historians have debated whether the spread of Slavic languages and cultures resulted primarily from population movements or from existing inhabitants adopting new identities.
A major genetic study published in Nature in 2025 found evidence of substantial migrations from northeastern Europe, alongside varying degrees of mixing with populations already living in the regions where Slavic communities emerged.
Taken together, these studies suggest that there was no single pattern of migration and integration during the early Middle Ages. Some ruling groups left relatively limited genetic traces, while other movements produced more enduring changes in population structure.
Plague and Survival in the Early Middle Ages
HistoGenes has also produced important evidence concerning the first plague pandemic, commonly known as the Justinianic Plague. Beginning in AD 541, the pandemic affected the Mediterranean world and continued through successive outbreaks. Written sources describe devastating mortality, particularly in parts of the Byzantine Empire. Until recently, however, the extent of the disease’s impact on populations farther north and east was much less clear.
According to the project’s latest summary, researchers have identified dozens of plague victims from the pandemic’s first phase in three burial grounds located in the modern Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. These findings provide evidence that the disease reached communities beyond the Mediterranean regions most frequently described in historical accounts.
Despite the substantial mortality indicated by the discoveries, the researchers report that all three affected communities survived. The results offer an opportunity to investigate how early medieval populations responded to epidemic disease and whether family and community structures continued after major losses.
Families, Childhood and Everyday Life
While the movements of kings, armies and peoples dominate many accounts of the early Middle Ages, HistoGenes places considerable emphasis on ordinary individuals. Ancient DNA allows researchers to identify biological relationships among people buried in the same cemetery. When combined with archaeological and anthropological evidence, these relationships can reveal how communities organised themselves.
At some sites, researchers have identified families spanning several generations, with relatives buried near one another. The evidence also suggests that marriage partners were frequently sought outside close kinship groups. Women often arrived from other communities, while family connections helped maintain continuity over long periods.
The exhibition includes the example of a girl aged approximately six to eight whose family tree can be traced across more than six generations.
Margit Berner, an anthropologist at the Natural History Museum Vienna and a HistoGenes research group leader, explained that the investigations have provided a new picture of earlier societies.
The findings also challenge assumptions about constant warfare during the so-called Migration Period. In some communities, skeletal remains show relatively few injuries, suggesting that inhabitants experienced long periods of relative peace.
According to Berner, some populations appear to have lived in this way for approximately 150 years.
These discoveries help shift attention away from the political upheavals described in medieval chronicles and towards the experiences of people who maintained families, raised children and established communities during these centuries.
Bringing the Research to the Public
The new exhibition at the Natural History Museum Vienna is organised around the burial grounds at Leobersdorf and Mödling. A circular central display presents the findings from both cemeteries, while an interactive touchscreen allows visitors to investigate the communities in greater detail. Eight surrounding stations examine major themes: cultural identity and genetics, nutrition, childhood, biological kinship, health and disease, mobility, society and material culture.
Illustrations reconstruct aspects of daily life in the early medieval Carpathian Basin, including changing seasons and everyday activities. Where the evidence is uncertain, the displays deliberately avoid presenting speculative details as established facts.
Visitors can also learn about the methods used by archaeologists, historians, anthropologists and geneticists. Hands-on activities include examining evidence of bone fractures and discovering how different scientific approaches contribute to the reconstruction of the past.
The exhibition is accompanied by guided tours and lectures addressing subjects such as the Avars, early medieval clothing and the history of plague. The broader aim is to demonstrate how the combination of several disciplines can reveal aspects of the past that no single method could uncover.
For HistoGenes, one of the most important conclusions is that the history of early medieval Europe cannot be explained simply through the movements of clearly defined peoples. Genetic ancestry, political affiliation and cultural identity did not always coincide, and communities could preserve their traditions while incorporating people from different backgrounds.
A Children’s Book About Uncovering the Past
The exhibition is also accompanied by a new children’s book, Das Glasperlenteam, which introduces younger readers to the scientific methods used to investigate early medieval history. Its full title translates as The Glass Bead Team, or How Different Professions Work Together to Unravel the Mysteries of the Past.
Created by Ingrid Hartl, a project coordinator at the Austrian Academy of Sciences who works with HistoGenes, and illustrator Anna Stemmer-Dvorak, the book uses the discovery of a glass bead from an early medieval burial to explain how historical research works. It is intended for readers aged nine and older.
Different specialists examine the object from their own perspectives, gradually contributing pieces of evidence to a larger picture. As new information becomes available, interpretations change and become more precise. The book introduces children to archaeology and other scientific professions while emphasising the importance of cooperation between disciplines.
GENchangers: Decoded Secrets from Early Medieval Burial Sites runs from 14 October 2026 to 26 July 2027 at the Natural History Museum Vienna. You can learn more from the museum’s website.
See also:
Genetic Study Reveals Cultural Integration in Avar Communities in the Early Middle Ages
New Study Links Huns to Xiongnu Through DNA Evidence
How the Slavs Transformed Medieval Europe: Ancient DNA Reveals a New Story
Subscribe to Medievalverse
Related Posts