Pages:  441-468 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.55086/sp256441468

For the first time, whole-genome sequencing results have been obtained from the archaeological DNA of adult males — residents of the city of Yaroslavl — who perished during the Mongol attack in 1238. To date, a total of nine mass burials from this period, containing the remains of over 200 individuals, have been discovered at the site. Founded by the Kievan Prince Yaroslav the Wise two centuries earlier, the city had become an important trade and craft center by the first third of the 13th century, owing to its geographical location on the Volga River.
Although the analysis of a small group of individuals does not fully reflect the composition of Yaroslavl’s population, our study has partially clarified the genesis of this paleopopulation in the pre-Mongol period and, using bioinformatic methods, assessed the prevalence within it of, primarily, hereditary diseases. It has been established that individuals with a similar genotype inhabited Northern Europe in the preceding or contemporaneous period, including the territory of Northwestern European Russia (e.g., Staraya Ladoga, Gnezdovo).
The analysis of phenotypic traits indicated with high probability that this group of Yaroslavl residents had blue eyes and, with one exception, light hair. An analysis of clinically significant single-nucleotide variants, conducted using the ClinVar database, allowed for the refinement of a prior paleopathological study for one of the individuals by accounting for mutations capable of causing various developmental anomalies. The accumulation of recessive pathogenic variants is likely the result of consanguinity among their ancestors, and their homozygous state suggests origin from an endogamous subgroup within the urban population. Archaeological, genomic, and paleopathological data confirm that this individual, despite serious developmental defects, occupied a relatively high status in society. Analysis of microbiome data indicates a high prevalence of periodontal diseases among the residents of Yaroslavl and provides unique insights into a possible case of tetanus.

Keywords: the Middle Ages, whole genome sequencing, hereditary diseases, bioinformatics, molecular paleopathology, microbiome

Information about authors:

Asya Engovatova (Moscow, Russian Federation). Candidate of Historical Sciences. Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Dmitry Ulyanov St., 19, Moscow, 117292, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0003-3109-2764

Alexander Kanapin (Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation). PhD. Institute of Translational Biomedicine. Polytechnicheskaya St., 29, Saint Petersburg, 195251, Russian Federation; Saint Petersburg State University. Universitetskaya Emb., 7–9, Sankt Petersburg, 199034, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0001-9802-5297

Kharis Mustafin (Moscow, Russian Federation). Candidate of Technical Sciences. Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. Institutsky Lane, 9, Dolgoprudny, 141701, Moscow Oblast, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0001-8891-2319

Anastasia Samsonova (Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation). PhD. Institute of Translational Biomedicine. Polytechnicheskaya St., 29, Saint Petersburg, 195251, Russian Federation; Saint Petersburg State University. Universitetskaya Emb., 7–9, Sankt Petersburg, 199034, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0002-9353-9173

Irina Alborova (Moscow, Russian Federation). Candidate of Biological Sciences. Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. Institutsky Lane, 9, Dolgoprudny, 141701, Moscow Oblast, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0002-1950-3885

Olga Chechyotkina (Moscow, Russian Federation). Candidate of Historical Sciences. Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Dmitry Ulyanov St., 19, Moscow, 117292, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0002-4880-1080

Maria Mednikova (Moscow, Russian Federation). Doctor of Historical Sciences, Candidate of Biological Sciences. Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Dmitry Ulyanov St., 19, Moscow, 117292, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0002-1918-2161