Ana Arzelier

This project investigates the formation, mobility, and social organization of Late Iron Age Celtic communities in the Carpathian Basin through an integrated archaeogenomic and funerary archaeological approach. Embedded within the ongoing Momentum research programme at the Institute of Archaeogenomics in Budapest, the project aims to move beyond population-level models by reconstructing kinship relations and community structure at the scale of burial groups. Archaeological evidence documents profound cultural transformations linked to the spread of La Tène culture between the 5th and 1st centuries BCE, yet the biological and social processes underlying these changes remain poorly understood. Using genome-wide ancient DNA from key Hungarian Celtic cemeteries, the project will reconstruct fine-grained kinship networks, investigate mobility and residence patterns, and examine the relationship between biological relatedness and funerary organization. Particular attention will be given to diachronic changes across the La Tène period and the transition toward Romanized Pannonia. The project also integrates comparative genomic datasets from Bronze Age populations to contextualize the emergence of Celtic populations within broader west–east population dynamics. By combining genetics, archaeology, and funerary analysis, the project will provide a community-scale perspective on social identities, cultural change, and long-term population history in Iron Age Europe.