3B: Niederstotzingen

Alemani of Germany
M406>FGC5089>FGC5081>Y2724>FGC5124>FT49621

A 7th century M406 individual (3b) was found in Alemanni Germany according to Ancient genome-wide analyses infer kinship structure in an Early Medieval Alemannic Graveyard.  The archaeological context is not provided, but he is said to be a foreigner. He has "the greatest affinity with southern Europeans and individuals from the eastern Mediterranean".  Principal Component Analysis (shown below) seems to indicate a clustering with Modern Greek individuals leading to some speculation he was a Byzantine.  The man was about 50-60 years-old and buried with a lance, shield, saex (knife), and double-edged-sword.  While he was not buried with his kin, it is clear he shared a strong social relationship with the other nearby individuals in the graveyard.

Global 25:
DEU_MA_Alemannic_o1:NIEcap3b__AD_605__Cov_57.04%,0.124067,0.139128,0.026776,-0.007752,0.016926,-0.005857,0.00329,-0.000462,0.001841,0.015672,0.002598,0.007493,-0.011447,0.003028,-0.003936,-0.012331,-0.008866,0.002027,0.010307,-5.00E-04,-0.011729,0.002844,-0.002342,0.000964,-0.002994

The individual is M406* BAM analysis by Ted Kandell shows that he is negative for the following sub-clades: G2a2b1a G-FGC5089; Y2729 as well as G2a2b1b G-PF3293.  This indicates this man may be G-M406* or perhaps G-M3317* or G-PF3296* (but we simply don't have the SNPs to prove it).

According to the study, "The Alemanni were a confederation of Germanic tribes that inhabited the eastern Upper Rhine basin and surrounding region. Roman ethnographers mentioned the Alemanni, but historical records from the 3rd to the 6th century CE contain no regular description of these tribes.  With the defeat of the Alemanni by Clovis I of the Franks in 497 CE, Alamannia became a subsumed Duchy of the Merovingian Kingdom. This event solidified the naming of the inhabitants of this region as Alemanni 

The study split the individuals buried at Niederstotzingen into two groups one whose genomic signals most resemble modern northern and eastern European populations, and a southern group, who most resemble modern-day Mediterraneans, albeit with recent common ancestry to other Europeans. The authors hypothesize 3B may have originated from a higher-altitude region, possibly the Swiss-German Alpine foothills.  In the same token, they recognize his genomic affinity to southern Europeans, which they say provides direct evidence for incoming mobility at the site and for contact that went beyond exchange of grave goods. "Families had holdings across the Merovingian Kingdom and traveled long distances to maintain them; these holdings could have extended from northern Italy to the North Sea. Nobles displayed and accrued power by recruiting outside individuals into the household as part of their traveling retinue. Extravagant burial rites of these families are symbolic evidence of the Frankish power systems based on people from the 5th until the 8th century CE."

"The burial of three unrelated individuals (3B, 3C, and 12C) in multiple graves beside the rest of the cohort would imply that this Alemannic group buried their dead based on a combination of familial ties and fellowship. One explanation could be that they were adopted as children from another region to be trained as warriors, which was a common practice at the time; these children were raised with equal regard in the family". 

Supplemental materials can be found HERE.