The dutch Y-chromosome from the early middle ages to present day

Abstract

Previous research on the geographic distribution of Y-chromosomal haplogroups (YHGs) in the present-day Netherlands observed significant spatial patterns, but it was unclear when these patterns arose (Altena et al. Eur J Hum Genet 28:287–299, 2020). Here we present historical Y-chromosomal data from nearly 350 early medieval to Middle Modern Period (500–1850 CE) individuals from 13 locations across the Netherlands. In combination with data from the present-day population of the Netherlands (Altena et al. Eur J Hum Genet 28:287–299, 2020), we explore spatiotemporal patterns of genetic variation and test for population continuity, with which we contribute to the reconstruction of the male population history of the Netherlands over the past 1.5k years. We observed statistically significant differences in the distribution of YHGs over time and across space, indicating that their modern distributions formed only recently. We could not, however, reject population continuity, suggesting that drift needs to be considered as a key factor in these differences. We therefore caution against attributing frequency differences of genetic variants over time to specific historical events. Finally, we note a remarkably high frequency of YHG T in late medieval Eindhoven, despite being very rare in the Netherlands and Europe overall both in the past and today. This haplogroup has been hypothesized to have been brought to Europe along with the medieval Jewish diaspora. We may therefore have identified genetic signatures of a Jewish community in medieval Eindhoven; something that had not been inferred from the archaeological record.