Ancient DNA evidence for the history of the Albanians

Abstract

The history of the Albanian people has long been debated, as they first appear in historical records in the eleventh century CE and their language is not closely related to any surviving Indo-European branches. Here, to reconstruct their history, we analysed over 6,000 ancient West Eurasian genomes and 74 newly sequenced present-day ethnic Albanians. Using a range of population genetics methods, including an enhanced protocol to detect identity-by-descent segments between ancient and present-day individuals, we detect continuity of West Balkan Late Bronze and Iron Age ancestry in Early Medieval Albania, to a greater degree than in neighbouring Balkan regions. We find that present-day Albanians predominantly descend from this remnant palaeo-Balkan group, which by at least 800–900 CE already exhibited a genetic profile suggesting that they are ancestral to many modern Albanians. In addition, we observe geographically structured admixture with Medieval East European-related groups, averaging 10–20% across present-day Albanians. Our findings provide insight into the demographic processes shaping Albanian ancestry and help locate the origin area of the Albanian language.