The ancient Mödlingers were Europeans, while the ancestors of the Leobersdorfers were East Asians – yet they lived peacefully in one region.
In fact, two distinct communities lived in the Vienna Basin in the 8th century, whose genetic origins were as fascinating as they were contradictory: people of East Asian descent dominated in present-day Leobersdorf, while European roots predominated in Mödling.
But despite these differences, the cultural traces showed a surprisingly consistent picture. “It is remarkable that two genetically very different groups developed a common culture,” explains Walter Pohl of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW). “Grave goods and the way of life of the people in both settlements are almost identical. So there were no signs of parallel societies.”
650 grave finds examined
The interdisciplinary HistoGenes project, coordinated by the ÖAW, examined more than 650 (!) grave finds from Mödling and Leobersdorf. The analyzes of the bones showed that the women often came from other regions – which indicates high mobility and a strict ban on incest.
“Almost none of the mothers had local ancestors,” Pohl marvels. Furthermore, his anthropologists found little evidence of violence or malnutrition. “It was one of the most peaceful eras in the Vienna Basin,” the archaeologists emphasize. This image of peaceful coexistence only came to an abrupt end around 800 AD, when the Franks under Charlemagne conquered the Avar kingdom.
Source: Krone
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