Ancient DNA reveals the prehistory of the Uralic and Yeniseian peoples

Tian Chen Zeng (), Leonid A. Vyazov (), Alexander Kim (), Pavel Flegontov, Kendra Sirak, Robert Maier, Iosif Lazaridis, Ali Akbari, Michael Frachetti, Alexey A. Tishkin, Natalia E. Ryabogina, Sergey A. Agapov, Danila S. Agapov, Anatoliy N. Alekseev, Gennady G. Boeskorov, Anatoly P. Derevianko, Viktor M. Dyakonov, Dmitry N. Enshin, Alexey V. Fribus, Yaroslav V. Frolov, Sergey P. Grushin, Alexander A. Khokhlov, Kirill Yu. Kiryushin, Yurii F. Kiryushin, Egor P. Kitov, Pavel Kosintsev, Igor V. Kovtun, Nikolai P. Makarov, Viktor V. Morozov, Egor N. Nikolaev, Marina P. Rykun, Tatyana M. Savenkova, Marina V. Shchelchkova, Vladimir Shirokov, Svetlana N. Skochina, Olga S. Sherstobitova, Sergey M. Slepchenko, Konstantin N. Solodovnikov, Elena N. Solovyova, Aleksandr D. Stepanov, Aleksei A. Timoshchenko, Aleksandr S. Vdovin, Anton V. Vybornov, Elena V. Balanovska, Stanislav Dryomov, Garrett Hellenthal, Kenneth Kidd, Johannes Krause, Elena Starikovskaya, Rem Sukernik, Tatiana Tatarinova, Mark G. Thomas, Maxat Zhabagin, Kim Callan, Olivia Cheronet, Daniel Fernandes, Denise Keating, Francesca Candilio, Lora Iliev, Aisling Kearns, Kadir Toykan Özdoğan, Matthew Mah, Adam Micco, Megan Michel, Iñigo Olalde, Fatma Zalzala, Swapan Mallick, Nadin Rohland, Ron Pinhasi (), Vagheesh M. Narasimhan () and David Reich ()
Additional contact information
Tian Chen Zeng: Harvard University
Leonid A. Vyazov: Harvard University
Alexander Kim: Harvard Medical School
Pavel Flegontov: Harvard University
Kendra Sirak: Harvard University
Robert Maier: Harvard University
Iosif Lazaridis: Harvard University
Ali Akbari: Harvard University
Michael Frachetti: Washington University in St Louis
Alexey A. Tishkin: Altai State University
Natalia E. Ryabogina: University of Gothenburg
Sergey A. Agapov: Historical, Ecological and Cultural Association ‘Povolzhye’
Danila S. Agapov: Historical, Ecological and Cultural Association ‘Povolzhye’
Anatoliy N. Alekseev: FIC Yakutsk Scientific Center of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Gennady G. Boeskorov: Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Anatoly P. Derevianko: Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Viktor M. Dyakonov: Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Dmitry N. Enshin: Institute of Problems of Northern Development
Alexey V. Fribus: Institute for the History of Material Culture of Russian Academy of Science
Yaroslav V. Frolov: Altai State University
Sergey P. Grushin: Altai State University
Alexander A. Khokhlov: Samara State University of Social Sciences and Education
Kirill Yu. Kiryushin: Altai State University
Yurii F. Kiryushin: Altai State University
Egor P. Kitov: Russian Academy of Science
Pavel Kosintsev: Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Igor V. Kovtun: Independent Researcher
Nikolai P. Makarov: Krasnoyarsk Regional Museum of Local Lore
Viktor V. Morozov: LLC ‘Archaeology of the East European Plain’
Egor N. Nikolaev: FIC Yakutsk Scientific Center of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Marina P. Rykun: National Research Tomsk State University
Tatyana M. Savenkova: V. F. Voino-Yasenetsky Krasnoyarsk State Medical University
Marina V. Shchelchkova: M. K. Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University
Vladimir Shirokov: Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Svetlana N. Skochina: Institute of Problems of Northern Development
Olga S. Sherstobitova: Siberian State University of Physical Education and Sport
Sergey M. Slepchenko: Institute of Problems of Northern Development
Konstantin N. Solodovnikov: Institute of Problems of Northern Development
Elena N. Solovyova: Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Aleksandr D. Stepanov: Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Aleksei A. Timoshchenko: Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Aleksandr S. Vdovin: Krasnoyarsk Regional Museum of Local Lore
Anton V. Vybornov: Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Elena V. Balanovska: Research Center for Medical Genetics
Stanislav Dryomov: Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SBRAS)
Garrett Hellenthal: University College London
Kenneth Kidd: Yale Medical School
Johannes Krause: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Elena Starikovskaya: Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SBRAS)
Rem Sukernik: Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SBRAS)
Tatiana Tatarinova: University of La Verne
Mark G. Thomas: University College London
Maxat Zhabagin: Nazarbayev University
Kim Callan: Harvard Medical School
Olivia Cheronet: University of Vienna
Daniel Fernandes: University of Vienna
Denise Keating: University College Dublin
Francesca Candilio: Museo delle Civiltà
Lora Iliev: Harvard Medical School
Aisling Kearns: Harvard University
Kadir Toykan Özdoğan: University of Vienna
Matthew Mah: Harvard Medical School
Adam Micco: Harvard Medical School
Megan Michel: Harvard University
Iñigo Olalde: Harvard University
Fatma Zalzala: Harvard Medical School
Swapan Mallick: Harvard University
Nadin Rohland: Harvard University
Ron Pinhasi: University of Vienna
Vagheesh M. Narasimhan: University of Texas
David Reich: Harvard University

Nature, 2025, vol. 644, issue 8075, 122-132

Abstract: Abstract The North Eurasian forest and forest-steppe zones have sustained millennia of sociocultural connections among northern peoples, but much of their history is poorly understood. In particular, the genomic formation of populations that speak Uralic and Yeniseian languages today is unknown. Here, by generating genome-wide data for 180 ancient individuals spanning this region, we show that the Early-to-Mid-Holocene hunter-gatherers harboured a continuous gradient of ancestry from fully European-related in the Baltic, to fully East Asian-related in the Transbaikal. Contemporaneous groups in Northeast Siberia were off-gradient and descended from a population that was the primary source for Native Americans, which then mixed with populations of Inland East Asia and the Amur River Basin to produce two populations whose expansion coincided with the collapse of pre-Bronze Age population structure. Ancestry from the first population, Cis-Baikal Late Neolithic–Bronze Age (Cisbaikal_LNBA), is associated with Yeniseian-speaking groups and those that admixed with them, and ancestry from the second, Yakutia Late Neolithic–Bronze Age (Yakutia_LNBA), is associated with migrations of prehistoric Uralic speakers. We show that Yakutia_LNBA first dispersed westwards from the Lena River Basin around 4,000 years ago into the Altai-Sayan region and into West Siberian communities associated with Seima-Turbino metallurgy—a suite of advanced bronze casting techniques that expanded explosively from the Altai1. The 16 Seima-Turbino period individuals were diverse in their ancestry, also harbouring DNA from Indo-Iranian-associated pastoralists and from a range of hunter-gatherer groups. Thus, both cultural transmission and migration were key to the Seima-Turbino phenomenon, which was involved in the initial spread of early Uralic-speaking communities.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09189-3

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