Here is a very interesting study of Slavic mtDNA using complete mitochondrial genomes : The History of Slavs Inferred from Complete Mitochondrial Genome Sequences, Marta Mielnik-Sikorska et al.
It had been a long time since we hadn't seen mtDNA studies worth mentioning.
The Slavic invasions would not have taken place 4000 years ago, but very similar R1a populations inhabited Eastern and Central Europe since the Corded Ware Culture, which started expanding nearly 5000 years ago. Therefore it would be more appropriate to refer to these H5 and H6 lineages as Corded Ware, or Proto-Balto-Slavic, rather than Slavic.
The authors mention the Huns, Avars, and Mongols as potential Altaic tribes who mixed with the Slavs, and I agree with that. In total, Altaic mtDNA represents only 0.6% of the 646 samples tested. That's considerably less than the percentage of Y-haplogroups C and Q combined. This is to be expected since the ruling Hunnic or Mongolian class would have procreated more with local women than with "imported" ones from Asia. The same scenario happened with the Indo-Europeans. Men migrate to conquer new lands and take wives and concubines among the defeated populations; women mostly stay where they are.
It had been a long time since we hadn't seen mtDNA studies worth mentioning.
Mielnik-Sikorska et al said:Detailed analysis of complete mtDNAs allowed us to identify a number of lineages that seem specific for Central and Eastern Europe (H5a1f, H5a2, H5a1r, H5a1s, H5b4, H5e1a, H5u1, some subbranches of H5a1a and H6a1a9). Some of them could possibly be traced back to at least ~4 kya, which indicates that some of the ancestors of today's Slavs (Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Ukrainians and Russians) inhabited areas of Central and Eastern Europe much earlier than it was estimated on the basis of archaeological and historical data.
The Slavic invasions would not have taken place 4000 years ago, but very similar R1a populations inhabited Eastern and Central Europe since the Corded Ware Culture, which started expanding nearly 5000 years ago. Therefore it would be more appropriate to refer to these H5 and H6 lineages as Corded Ware, or Proto-Balto-Slavic, rather than Slavic.
Mielnik-Sikorska et al said:We also sequenced entire mitochondrial genomes of several non-European lineages (A, C, D, G, L) found in contemporary populations of Poland and Ukraine. The analysis of these haplogroups confirms the presence of Siberian (C5c1, A8a1) and Ashkenazi-specific (L2a1l2a) mtDNA lineages in Slavic populations. Moreover, we were able to pinpoint some lineages which could possibly reflect the relatively recent contacts of Slavs with nomadic Altaic peoples (C4a1a, G2a, D5a2a1a1).
The authors mention the Huns, Avars, and Mongols as potential Altaic tribes who mixed with the Slavs, and I agree with that. In total, Altaic mtDNA represents only 0.6% of the 646 samples tested. That's considerably less than the percentage of Y-haplogroups C and Q combined. This is to be expected since the ruling Hunnic or Mongolian class would have procreated more with local women than with "imported" ones from Asia. The same scenario happened with the Indo-Europeans. Men migrate to conquer new lands and take wives and concubines among the defeated populations; women mostly stay where they are.