Eastern Hunter-Gatherer

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Eastern Hunter-Gatherer
Artifacts and forensic reconstruction of an Eastern Hunter-Gatherer from the site of Yuzhny Oleny island (dated c. 8,100 BP), by M.M. Gerasimov. National Museum of Karelia.[1]
Hunter-gatherers in Europe between 14 ka and 9 ka, with the main area of Eastern Hunter-Gatherers (EHG, ). Individual numbers correspond to calibrated sample dates.[2]

In archaeogenetics, the term Eastern Hunter-Gatherer (EHG), sometimes East European Hunter-Gatherer, or Eastern European Hunter-Gatherer is the name given to a distinct ancestral component that represents Mesolithic hunter-gatherers of Eastern Europe.[3]

The Eastern Hunter Gatherer genetic profile is mainly derived from Ancient North Eurasian (ANE) ancestry, which was introduced from Siberia,[4] with a secondary and smaller admixture of European Western Hunter-Gatherers (WHG).[5][6] Still, the relationship between the ANE and EHG ancestral components is not yet well understood due to lack of samples that could bridge the spatiotemporal gap.[5]

During the Mesolithic, the EHGs inhabited an area stretching from the

Urals and downwards to the Pontic–Caspian steppe.[7] Along with Scandinavian Hunter-Gatherers (SHG) and Western Hunter-Gatherers (WHG), the EHGs constituted one of the three main genetic groups in the postglacial period of early Holocene Europe.[8] The border between WHGs and EHGs ran roughly from the lower Danube, northward along the western forests of the Dnieper towards the western Baltic Sea.[9]

During the

Eneolithic, likely during the 4th millennium BC EHGs on the Pontic–Caspian steppe mixed with Caucasus hunter-gatherers (CHGs) with the resulting population, almost half-EHG and half-CHG, forming the genetic cluster known as Western Steppe Herder (WSH).[10][11] WSH populations closely related to the people of the Yamnaya culture are supposed to have embarked on a massive migration leading to the spread of Indo-European languages
throughout large parts of Eurasia.

Research

Schematic ethnogenesis of the Eastern Hunter-Gatherers (EHG), through a main ancestry of Ancient North Eurasians (ANE), and a smaller admixture of Western Hunter-Gatherers (WHG)
Genetically, the Eastern Hunter Gatherers (EHG, red) were most closely related to the Ancient North Eurasians (ANE, pink).

Haak et al. (2015) identified the Eastern Hunter-Gatherers (EHG) as a distinct genetic cluster in two males only. The EHG male of

U5a1d. The other EHG male, buried in Karelia (dated to ca. 5500-5000 BC) carried Y-haplogroup R1a1 and mt-haplogoup C1g. The authors of the study also identified a Western Hunter-Gatherer (WHG) cluster and a Scandinavian Hunter-Gatherer (SHG) cluster, intermediate between WHG and EHG.[a] They suggested that EHGs harbored mixed ancestry from Ancient North Eurasians (ANEs) and WHGs.[13]

Researchers have proposed various admixture proportion models for EHGs from WHGs and ANEs.

Northern China, which can be explained by geneflow from a Tianyuan-related source into the ANE lineage (represented by Malta and Afontova Gora 3), which later substantially contributed to the formation of the EHG.[17] The 'Basal East Asian' (Tianyuan-like) ancestry among EHGs (Sidelkino) has been estimated to be around 12,9%.[18]

The formation of the EHG ancestral component is estimated to have happened 13,000–15,000 years BP.

U5, as well as C1 and R1b.[2]

EHGs may have mixed with "an Armenian-like Near Eastern source", which formed the Yamnaya culture, as early as the

Eneolithic (5200-4000 BC).[19] The people of the Yamnaya culture were found to be a mix of EHG and a "Near Eastern related population". During the 3rd millennium BC, the Yamnaya people embarked on a massive expansion throughout Europe, which significantly altered the genetic landscape of the continent. The expansion gave rise to cultures such as Corded Ware, and was possibly the source of the distribution of Indo-European languages in Europe.[13]

The people of the Mesolithic

U, which is found in around 80% of all European hunter-gatherer samples.[20]

The people of the

Günther et al. (2018) analyzed 13 SHGs and found all of them to be of EHG ancestry. Generally, SHGs from western and northern Scandinavia had more EHG ancestry (ca 49%) than individuals from eastern Scandinavia (ca. 38%). The authors suggested that the SHGs were a mix of WHGs who had migrated into Scandinavia from the south, and EHGs who had later migrated into Scandinavia from the northeast along the

OCA/Herc2), than WHGs and EHGs.[22]

European Neolithic
, between 7.5 ka and 5 ka BP (c. 5,500~3,000 BC)
Genetic proximity of the Eastern Hunter Gatherers () with ancient (color) and modern (grey) populations. Primary Component Analysis (detail).[23]

Members of the Kunda culture and Narva culture were also found to be more closely related with WHG, while the Pit–Comb Ware culture was more closely related to EHG. Northern and eastern areas of the eastern Baltic were found to be more closely related to EHG than southern areas. The study noted that EHGs, like SHGs and Baltic hunter-gatherers, carried high frequencies of the derived

alleles for SLC24A5 and SLC45A2, which are codings for light skin.[24]

Mathieson et al. (2018) analyzed the genetics of a large number of skeletons of prehistoric Eastern Europe. Thirty-seven samples were from Mesolithic and Neolithic Ukraine (9500-6000 BC). These were classified as intermediate between EHG and SHG. The males belonged exclusively to

A large number of individuals from the

Forty individuals from three sites of the

People of the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture were found to harbor about 20% hunter-gatherer ancestry, which was intermediate between EHG and WHG.[19]

Narasimshan et al. (2019) coined a new ancestral component, West Siberian Hunter-Gatherer (WSHG). WSHGs contained about 20% EHG ancestry, 73% ANE ancestry, and 6% East Asian ancestry.[25]

Possible association with Early Indo-European

The EHG have been argued by some to represent a possible source for the

Early European Farmer (EEF) ancestry.[26] Both Dnieper-Donets males and Yamnaya males carry the same paternal haplogroups (R1b and I2a), suggesting that the CHG and EEF admixture among the Yamnaya came through EHG males mixing with EEF and CHG females. Based on this, David W. Anthony, this suggests that the Indo-European languages were initially spoken by EHGs living in Eastern Europe.[27]

Others have suggested that the Indo-European language family may have originated not in Eastern Europe, but among CHG-rich West Asian populations South of the Caucasus which later absorbed EHG-rich groups North of the Caucasus. It was noted that haplogroups may not correlate with autosomal ancestry components and historical language dispersals.[28]

Physical appearance

The mutation for blond hair is thought to have originated among the Afontova Gora population of the Ancient North Eurasian (ANE) cline of south-central Siberia.[29]

The EHGs are suggested to have had mostly

brown eyes and light skin,[22][30] with "intermediate frequencies of the blue-eye variants" and "high frequencies of the light-skin variants."[31] An EHG from Karelia was determined by Günther (2018) to have high probabilities of being brown-eyed and dark haired, with a predicted intermediate skin tone.[32] Another EHG from Samara was predicted to be light skinned, and was determined to have a high probability of being blue-eyed with a light hair shade, with a 75% calculated probability of being blond-haired.[33][31]

The rs12821256 allele of the KITLG gene that controls melanocyte development and melanin synthesis,[34] which is associated with blond hair and first found in an individual from Siberia dated to around 17,000 BP, is found in three Eastern Hunter-Gatherers from Samara, Motala and Ukraine c. 10,000 BP, suggesting that this allele originated in the Ancient North Eurasian population, before spreading to western Eurasia.[35]

Many remains of East Hunter-Gatherers dated to circa 8,100 BP (6,100 BCE) have also been excavated at Yuzhny Oleny island in Lake Onega.[36] The Ancient North Eurasian (ANE) ancestry is by far the main component of the Yuzhny Oleny group, and is among the highest within the rest of the Eastern Hunter-Gatherers (EHG).[4]

  • Reconstruction of burial No. 132 of the Oleneostrovsky burial ground (Yuzhni Oleny island, Lake Onega). Exhibit of the National Museum of the Republic of Karelia.[37]
    Reconstruction of burial No. 132 of the Oleneostrovsky burial ground (Yuzhni Oleny island, Lake Onega). Exhibit of the National Museum of the Republic of Karelia.[37]
  • Artifacts and reconstruction of Eastern Hunter-Gatherers from Yuzhny Oleny island by Gerasimov.[37]
    Artifacts and reconstruction of Eastern Hunter-Gatherers from Yuzhny Oleny island by Gerasimov.[37]
  • Karelian Petroglyph depicting 5 skiers and a reindeer. These petroglyphs date to 7,000~6,000 years BP.
    Karelian Petroglyph depicting 5 skiers and a reindeer. These petroglyphs date to 7,000~6,000 years BP.

Material culture

Baltic).[38]

As hunter-gatherers, the EHGs initially relied on stone tools and artifacts derived from ivory, horns or antlers. From circa 5,900 BC, they started to adopt pottery in the area of the northern

Baltic sea. This technological spread was much faster than the spread of agriculture itself, and mainly occurred through technology transfer between hunter-gatherer groups, rather than through the demic diffusion of agriculturalist.[39]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Lazaridis et al. (2016) found SHGs to be a mix of EHGs and WHGs: "Eastern Hunter Gatherers (EHG) derive 3/4 of their ancestry from the ANE... Scandinavian hunter-gatherers (SHG) are a mix of EHG and WHG; and WHG are a mix of EHG and the Upper Paleolithic Bichon from Switzerland."[12]

References

  1. ^ National Museum of Karelia exhibit
  2. ^
    PMID 36859578
    .
  3. ^ Haak, Wolfgang; Lazaridis, Iosif; Patterson, Nick; Rohland, Nadin; Mallick, Swapan; Llamas, Bastien; Brandt, Guido; Nordenfelt, Susanne; Harney, Eadaoin; Stewardson, Kristin; Fu, Qiaomei (June 1, 2015). "Massive migration from the steppe was a source for Indo-European languages in Europe". Nature. 522 (7555): 207–211. doi:10.1038/nature14317. ISSN 1476-4687. PMC 5048219. PMID 25731166.
  4. ^ . ANE makes up the principal share of the EHG (Eastern Hunter-Gatherer) autosomal component, whose content is especially high in the genomes of Mesolithic and Early Neolithic inhabitants of northeastern Europe buried at Yuzhny Oleny Ostrov, Popovo, Sidelkino, Lebyazhinka IV, etc. (Haak et al., 2015; Damgaard et al., 2018). They passed EHG on to the Yamnaya people, from whom it was inherited by several filial populations, including Afanasyevans. As early as the Mesolithic, EHG was introduced from northern Russia to Scandinavia, as evidenced by genomes of the Motala people in southern Sweden. Their ancestors had migrated there from the east along the coast of Norway, because the share of EHG in more southern populations, such as the earlier Kunda people of the eastern Baltic, is lower (Haak et al., 2015; Mittnik et al., 2018).
  5. ^ .
  6. .
  7. ^ Anthony 2019b, p. 27.
  8. ^ Kashuba 2019: "Earlier aDNA studies suggest the presence of three genetic groups in early postglacial Europe: Western hunter–gatherers (WHG), Eastern hunter–gatherers (EHG), and Scandinavian hunter–gatherers (SHG)4. The SHG have been modelled as a mixture of WHG and EHG."
  9. ^ Anthony 2019b, p. 28.
  10. PMID 25731166
    .
  11. .
  12. ^ Lazaridis 2016.
  13. ^ a b Haak 2015.
  14. S2CID 19158377
    .
  15. . Haak et al. (2015): 38–40% ANE (MA-1), 60–62% WHG (Fig S8.6). (Alternative topologies where EHG and ANE are unadmixed sister lineages, with WHG being admixed, are not rejected)
  16. ^ .
  17. . Currently, the strongest affinity to Tianyuan in Holocene European HGs was reported for Eastern European HGs (EHG). This is because the ancestry found in Mal'ta and Afontova Gora individuals (Ancient North Eurasian ancestry) received ancestry from UP East Asian/Southeast Asian populations54, who then contributed substantially to EHG55.
  18. .
  19. ^ a b c d e Mathieson et al. 2018.
  20. ^ Jones 2017.
  21. ^ Saag 2017.
  22. ^ a b Günther 2018.
  23. PMID 34707286
    .
  24. ^ Mittnik 2018.
  25. ^ Narasimhan 2019.
  26. ^ Anthony 2019a, p. 14.
  27. ^ Anthony 2019a, pp. 7, 14.
  28. PMID 36007055
    .
  29. .
  30. . "Interestingly, eastern and Scandinavian hunter-gatherers had light skin,[48] in contrast to Baltic hunter-gatherers who kept their dark skin only until 3800 years ago when farming was introduced in this region by the Bronze Age expansion of people of Russian steppe origin.[56, 57]"
  31. ^
  32. ^ Günther 2018, p. 4/28: From Supplementary document S8: "The Karelian individual presents high probabilities of being brown-eyed (0.99), and having a dark hair (0.96). Without speculating about the genetic architecture of skin pigmentation, we suggest an intermediate skin-pigmentation phenotype for the Karelia individual, as it carried the ancestral allele at rs16891982 and the derived allele at rs1426654 (S1 Table). The presence of the rs1426654 light-skin allele, in addition to five additional C11-associated alleles at haplotype defining SNPs (S1 Table) suggests that the Karelian individual carried the C11 light-skin haplotype."
  33. ^ Günther 2018, p. 4/28: From Supplementary document S8: "The Samaran individual exhibits high probabilities of being blue-eyed (0.88), light hair shade (0.99); most likely being blond (0.75)."
  34. S2CID 19313549
    .
  35. ^ Mathieson et al. 2018 "Supplementary Information page 52: "The derived allele of the KITLG SNP rs12821256 that is associated with – and likely causal for blond hair in Europeans is present in one hunter-gatherer from each of Samara, Motala and Ukraine (I0124, I0014 and I1763), as well as several later individuals with Steppe ancestry. Since the allele is found in populations with EHG but not WHG ancestry, it suggests that its origin is in the Ancient North Eurasian (ANE) population. Consistent with this, we observe that the earliest known individual with the derived allele (supported by two reads) is the ANE individual Afontova Gora 3, which is directly dated to 16130-15749 cal BCE (14710±60 BP, MAMS-27186: a previously unpublished date that we newly report here). We cannot determine the status of rs12821256 in Afontova Gora 2 and MA-1 due to lack of sequence coverage at this SNP."
  36. PMID 29382937
    .
  37. ^ . ANE makes up the principal share of the EHG (Eastern Hunter-Gatherer) autosomal component, whose content is especially high in the genomes of Mesolithic and Early Neolithic inhabitants of northeastern Europe buried at Yuzhny Oleny Ostrov, Popovo, Sidelkino, Lebyazhinka IV, etc. (Haak et al., 2015; Damgaard et al., 2018).", "Mesolithic, northern Russian Plain, Yuzhny Oleny Ostrov (Alekseyev, Gokhman, 1984)
  38. .
  39. . Although demic diffusion may have a role, on the basis of its speed we argue that pottery production was rapidly disseminated through knowledge transfer across established networks between dispersed hunter-gatherer communities

Bibliography

Further reading