The prehistory of Estonia from a genetic perspective: new insights from ancient DNA
Date
2019-06-27
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Abstract
Juba aastakümneid on populatsioonide demograafilist ajalugu vorminud protsesse uuritud tänapäeval elavate inimeste geneetiliste andmete abil. Viimase pea 15 aasta jooksul on sellesse valdkonda hakanud oluliselt panustama ka vana DNA uurimine. Tänapäevaseid genoome analüüsides on võimalik ennustada, millised protsessid ja millal populatsioone mõjutanud on. Vana DNA genoomid on seotud kindla aja ja kohaga minevikus, mis võimaldab neid ennustusi kontrollida ning leida populatsioone, millel tänapäeva genoomidesse panustada ei õnnestunud.
Selle doktoritöö peamiseks teemaks on Euroopa ja täpsemalt Eesti demograafiline ajalugu. Nüüdisinimesed jõudsid Euroopasse umbes 45 000 aastat tagasi (a.t.). U. 8000 a.t. jõudis Euroopasse põlluharimine koos Lähis-Ida päritolu inimestega. Eesti erineb mõneti ülejäänud Euroopast – esimesed inimasustuse jäljed pärinevad jääajajärgsest perioodist u. 11 000 a.t., põlluharimine sai alguse alles u. 5000 a.t. nöörkeraamika kultuuri saabumisega ning tänapäeva eestlased, soomlased ja mõned väiksemad Ida-Euroopa ja Lääne-Siberi rahvad räägivad uurali keeli, mis pärinevad ilmselt Volga-Kama piirkonnast.
Töö raames uuriti arheoloogia, lingvistika ja geneetika andmeid kõrvutades Eesti elanikke nooremast kiviajast tänapäevani laiemas Euraasia kontekstis. Selgus, et tänapäeva eestlaste genoom on kujunenud mitmete sisserännete tulemusena: küttimise-korilusega seotud kammkeraamika kultuuri Eestisse jõudmisega nooremal kiviajal kaasnes idapoolse päritoluga inimeste lisandumine läänepoolse geneetilise taustaga populatsiooni; u. tuhat aastat hiljem tõid nöörkeraamika kultuuri esindajad meie alale põlluharimisega koos Ida-Euroopa stepi aukhaudade kultuuri inimeste geneetilise komponendi; pronksiaegsete kivikirstkalmetesse maetute genoomides suurenes taas küttide-korilaste geneetiline panus; rauaajal ilmus tarandkalmetesse maetute genoomidesse Siberi geneetiline komponent, mis seob ka tänapäeva eestlasi teiste uurali keelte kõnelejatega Euroopas ja Siberis.
The processes that have shaped the demographic histories of populations through time have been studied for decades using modern genetic data. In the last almost 15 years, ancient DNA research has started to contribute significantly to this field. Analysing modern genomes enables to derive models to explain population change in the past. Ancient genomes are connected to a certain time and place, enabling to specify these models and to uncover genetic lineages that have not managed to contribute to the genomes of modern populations. The main topic of this thesis is the demographic history of Europe and more specifically Estonia. Modern humans reached Europe by around 45,000 years ago (ya). Around 8,000 ya, farming was brought to Europe by people with Near-Eastern ancestry. Estonia is somewhat different from most of Europe – the first evidence of human settlement is from after the ice age around 11,000 ya, farming arrived only with the Late Neolithic Corded Ware culture people, and Estonians, Finns and some smaller populations in Eastern Europe and Western Siberia speak Uralic languages, originating probably in the Volga-Kama region. This thesis combines data from archaeology, linguistics and genetics to study the occupants of Estonia from the Neolithic until today in a wider Eurasian context. The genome of modern Estonians is found to be influenced by several past migration events. Firstly, the Neolithic hunter-gatherers of Comb Ceramic culture were likely to bring eastern influences to the initial population with a western genetic background. Around a thousand years later, farming-based economies spread in Estonia together with Corded Ware culture. Its carriers were people with ancestry from Yamnaya people from the Eastern European steppe. Hunter-gatherer ancestry increased again in the Bronze Age while Estonian Iron Age genomes reveal an influx of a new genetic component from Siberia, which also connects modern Estonians to other Uralic speakers in Europe and Siberia.
The processes that have shaped the demographic histories of populations through time have been studied for decades using modern genetic data. In the last almost 15 years, ancient DNA research has started to contribute significantly to this field. Analysing modern genomes enables to derive models to explain population change in the past. Ancient genomes are connected to a certain time and place, enabling to specify these models and to uncover genetic lineages that have not managed to contribute to the genomes of modern populations. The main topic of this thesis is the demographic history of Europe and more specifically Estonia. Modern humans reached Europe by around 45,000 years ago (ya). Around 8,000 ya, farming was brought to Europe by people with Near-Eastern ancestry. Estonia is somewhat different from most of Europe – the first evidence of human settlement is from after the ice age around 11,000 ya, farming arrived only with the Late Neolithic Corded Ware culture people, and Estonians, Finns and some smaller populations in Eastern Europe and Western Siberia speak Uralic languages, originating probably in the Volga-Kama region. This thesis combines data from archaeology, linguistics and genetics to study the occupants of Estonia from the Neolithic until today in a wider Eurasian context. The genome of modern Estonians is found to be influenced by several past migration events. Firstly, the Neolithic hunter-gatherers of Comb Ceramic culture were likely to bring eastern influences to the initial population with a western genetic background. Around a thousand years later, farming-based economies spread in Estonia together with Corded Ware culture. Its carriers were people with ancestry from Yamnaya people from the Eastern European steppe. Hunter-gatherer ancestry increased again in the Bronze Age while Estonian Iron Age genomes reveal an influx of a new genetic component from Siberia, which also connects modern Estonians to other Uralic speakers in Europe and Siberia.
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Keywords
vana DNA, DNA analüüs, populatsioonigeneetika, esiajalugu, ajalooline demograafia, Eesti