The population history of northeastern Siberia since the Pleistocene

Abstract

Northeastern Siberia has been inhabited by humans for more than 40,000 years, yet its deep population history remains poorly understood. Here, we investigate the region’s late Pleistocene population history through analyses of 34 new ancient genomes from 31,000 to 600 years ago. We document complex population dynamics during this period, including at least three major migration events: an initial peopling by a previously unknown Palaeolithic population of “Ancient North Siberians”, distantly related to early West Eurasian hunter-gatherers; the arrival of East Asian peoples giving rise to Native Americans and “Ancient Paleosiberians”, closely related to contemporary communities from far northeastern Siberia such as Koryaks; and a Holocene migration of East Asian peoples, named “Neosiberians”, from which many contemporary Siberians descend. Each of these population expansions nearly replaced earlier inhabitants, ultimately generating the mosaic genetic make-up observed in contemporary peoples inhabiting a vast area across northern Eurasia and the Americas. Europe PMC Funders Author Manuscripts Northeastern Siberia (the modern Russian Far East) is one of the most remote and extreme environments colonised by humans in the Pleistocene. Extending from the Taimyr Peninsula in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east, and north from the China/Russia border to the Arctic Ocean, the region is presently home to dozens of diverse ethnolinguistic groups. Recent genetic studies of the indigenous peoples of this land have revealed complex patterns of admixture, which are argued to have occurred largely within the last 10,000 years (kya)1– 3. Yet humans have been in the region far longer4–6, but their origins and the demographic processes of this deeper population history is largely unknown. The earliest, most secure Correspondence to: Martin Sikora; Laurent Excoffier; Eske Willerslev. Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to E. W. (ewillerslev@snm.ku.dk), L. E. (laurent.excoffier@iee.unibe.ch) or M.S. (martin.sikora@snm.ku.dk). †Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 3B, 2200 Copenhagen, Denmark.