Migration, admixture and natural selection have been a major factors shaping human societies and genomes through time. Ancient DNA research indicates that, by-and-large, the genomes of present-day Europeans comprise ancestries from three major layers of people: local hunter-gatherers, Near Eastern early farmers, Steppe pastoralists. However, the detailed genetic history of any given area is always much more complex, calling for more focused and local-scale studies. One such relatively understudied region is present-day Ukraine. Southern Ukraine, as part of the Eurasian Steppe, has been in the path of several migrating groups, e.g. Yamnaya Steppe pastoralists, mixed-origin Cimmerians and Scythians, Gothic Chernyakhov people, Iranian Alans, Golden Horde Mongols, Turkic Nogais, Slavic Cossacks.
It is important to study demographic history to gain insight into migrations and admixture events in the past to help us understand how these processes have shaped genomes and societies and influenced how today's populations have come to be. Also, tracing the drivers of natural selection in the past can shed light on how changes in the environment (both natural and societal) have led to phenotypic changes in humans which in turn can provide clues for how we might respond to the changing environment in the future.
The main research objectives of the project were to generate genomic data from individuals from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages in order to shed light on patterns of genetic variation in Ukraine through time, to characterize the composition of their ancestries and interpret the results in the context of archaeological and historical information in order to understand the demographic history of the area, and to compare hypothesized ecological drivers of selection using a range of ecological proxies in a likelihood framework in order to pinpoint the drivers of selection. Futhermore, the objective of this project is for the researcher to mature to be independent by developing excisting and acquiring new skills – furthering her skills in her current research area of demographic history inference and expanding into a new field of studying natural selection, as well as developing transferable skills by conceiving and managing a project, disseminating and communicating the project results, networking, and supervising students.
The main research conclusion of the project is that there has been a lot of genetic variability in Ukraine through time, especially during the Iron Age and the Middle Ages. What is more, the researcher has developed and acquired skills both directly related to research as well as transferable skills and has matured into an independent scientist who is ready to apply for further funding and conduct high-quality research as a principal investigator.
