Most of the early Hungarian tribes originated from the Volga-Kama and South-Ural regions,
where they were composed of a mixed population based on historical, philological and
archaeological data. We present here the uniparental genetic makeup of the mediaeval
era of these regions that served as a melting pot for ethnic groups with different
linguistic and historical backgrounds. Representing diverse cultural contexts, the
new genetic data originate from ancient proto-Ob-Ugric people from Western Siberia
(6th–13th century), the pre-Conquest period and subsisting Hungarians from the Volga-Ural
region (6th–14th century) and their neighbours. By examining the eastern archaeology
traits of Hungarian prehistory, we also study their genetic composition and origin
in an interdisciplinary framework. We analyzed 110 deep-sequenced mitogenomes and
42 Y-chromosome haplotypes from 18 archaeological sites in Russia. The results support
the studied groups’ genetic relationships regardless of geographical distances, suggesting
large-scale mobility. We detected long-lasting genetic connections between the sites
representing the Kushnarenkovo and Chiyalik cultures and the Carpathian Basin Hungarians
and confirmed the Uralic transmission of several East Eurasian uniparental lineages
in their gene pool. Based on phylogenetics, we demonstrate and model the connections
and splits of the studied Volga-Ural and conqueror groups. Early Hungarians and their
alliances conquered the Carpathian Basin around 890 AD. Re-analysis of the Hungarian
conquerors’ maternal gene pool reveals numerous surviving maternal relationships in
both sexes; therefore, we conclude that men and women came to the Carpathian Basin
together, and although they were subsequently genetically fused into the local population,
certain eastern lineages survived for centuries.
