Mitochondrial DNA Diversity in Northeast Iberians During the Iron Age
Cuesta-Aguirre, Daniel R. (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Animal, de Biologia Vegetal i d'Ecologia)
Campoy Caballero, Maria Rosa (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Animal, de Biologia Vegetal i d'Ecologia)
Sandoval-Ávila, Carolina (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Animal, de Biologia Vegetal i d'Ecologia)
Busquets i Costa, Francesc (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Ciències de l'Antiguitat i de l'Edat Mitjana)
Fàbregas Espadaler, Marta (Fundació Privada Conjunt Monumental Castell de Besora)
Sinner, Alejandro G. (University of Victoria)
de Prado, Gabriel (Museu d'Arqueologia de Catalunya-Ullastret)
Molist, Núria (Museu d'Arqueologia de Catalunya)
Durán, Montserrat (Jaciment i Museu El Camp de les Lloses)
Mestres Santacreu, Imma (Jaciment i Museu El Camp de les Lloses)
Alonso Martínez, Natàlia (Universitat de Lleida)
Aluja París, Maria Pilar (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Animal, de Biologia Vegetal i d'Ecologia)
Malgosa Morera, Assumpció (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Animal, de Biologia Vegetal i d'Ecologia)
Pereira dos Santos, Cristina Maria (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Animal, de Biologia Vegetal i d'Ecologia)

Data:	2025
Resum:	Iberian culture emerged along the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula around the 6th century BCE, flourishing between 400-200 BCE until the Roman conquest. Iberians engaged in metallurgy, agriculture, and livestock, and actively participated in Mediterranean commercial trade networks. Although cremation was the predominant funerary practice, advances in ancient DNA techniques have enabled the recovery of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from an increasing number of Iberian individuals. Here, we analyzed 31 newborns, successfully obtaining mtDNA profiles for 21 individuals (20 Iberians and 1 Late Roman). These data were merged with 41 previously published mtDNA profiles from unrelated Iberians across different tribes of the Northeast of the Iberian Peninsula. Additional prehistoric data were compiled to contextualize Iberian haplogroups. We investigated maternal lineage diversity between tribes, temporal shifts in haplogroup composition, and signatures of long-distance female mobility. Our results revealed subtle differences in mtDNA haplogroup frequencies between tribes, although genetic differentiation was not statistically significant. Mitochondrial diversity remained relatively high across all tribes, consistent with patrilocal mating systems and small-distance female migration that may have prevented strong differentiation among tribes. A predominance of haplogroups H, J, K, HV0, and U was observed, most of which were already present in the Iberian Peninsula before the Iron Age. Haplogroup diversity remained stable over time, without population differentiation, suggesting maternal genetic continuity from the Bronze Age. However, the presence of some haplogroups pointed to occasional female-mediated gene flow from North Africa, the Near East, and Central Europe. Overall, this study provides the most comprehensive NGS-based assessment of maternal ancestry in Iron Age Iberians to date, revealing a genetic landscape shaped by local continuity alongside some long-distance female mobility linked to commercial trade and cultural interaction.
Ajuts:	Agencia Estatal de Investigación PGC2018-096666-B-I00 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2020/FI_B1-00641 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2021/SGR-00186
Nota:	Altres ajuts: acords transformatius de la UAB
Drets:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Llengua:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Matèria:	Iberian culture ; Iron age (IA) ; Matrilineage ; Mobility ; Paleogenetic
Publicat a:	Journal of archaeological science, Vol. 183 (November 2025) , art. 106390, ISSN 1095-9238

DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2025.106390

17 p, 6.1 MB

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