Northeast Asia has a complex history of migration and cholera outbreaks. This is the essence of a published international archeogenetic study Scientific developments and heads the Department of Archeology and Classical Studies at Stockholm University. The study examined genomic data from the archeological remains of 40 people excavated in Northeast Asia.
Anders Götherström, a professor at the Center for Paleogenetics at the University of Stockholm and one of the main researchers in the study, said: “It’s amazing to find everything here, sustainability and recurrent migrations and disease-related bacteria.”
Scientists have discovered that in the past there were demographic events common to all of Lake Baikal. For example, about 8,300 years ago, a migration took place both east and west of Lake Baikal. However, there were special events for each of the two areas. While the areas west of Lake Baikal provide evidence for recurrent migration and heavy mobility, the areas east of Lake Baikal have maintained their longevity for thousands of years, with limited mobility from other regions.
“It is interesting that our taxes reveal the complex and contradictory patterns of demographic change in one of the least populated regions on earth; including a significant gene flow and a genetic sustainability without major demographic changes in the two areas around Lake Baikal, ”said Gulshah Merve Kilinc, a former post researcher at the Department of Archeology and Classical Studies at Stockholm University and now a lecturer at Ankara Hacettepe University’s Bioinformatics Department.
The study also provides some new clues about the history of Paleo-Inuit groups, people living in Northern Greenland and Canada. Although the Belkachi complex, a cultural group in the Baikal region, is suspected to have played a role in early Paleo-Inuit history, it has not been possible to assess this in detail. Remains of a person associated with the Belkachi cultural complex date back more than 6,000 years, and now show a union with the Paleo Inuit (Saqqaq), previously published in Greenland (dated about 4,000 years BP). .
“This is the first genetic evidence of a link between the Neolithic period human group in Yakutia and the later Paleo-Inuit groups, and it will inspire new research on demographic development,” said Jan Storå, a professor at the Osteoarchaeological Research Laboratory. Department of Archeology and Classical Studies, Stockholm University.
Finally, research provides new information on the eastern origin of bacteria Yersinia pestis, plague. From the Lena basin c. An individual dated. He was buried 3,800 years ago and with people who proved to be genetically close DNA and Yersinia pestis. Also, a person c. 4400 years ago it hosted the region west of Lake Baikal Yersinia pestis. Interestingly, the population west of Lake Baikal declined about 4,400 years ago, according to genomic data.
“Although more information is needed, our discovery coincides with the discovery of a declining population. Yersinia pestis a prehistoric plague – perhaps indicating the possibility of a pandemic. But this is a reasonable estimate that needs to be confirmed. ” Emrah Kirdök, a former doctoral student in the Department of Archeology and Classical Studies at Stockholm University and currently a lecturer at Mersin University in Turkey.
Reference: “Dynamics of human population and Yersinia pestis in ancient Northeast Asia ”Gulsah Merve Kilinch, Natalija Kashuba, Dilek Koptekin, Nora Bergfeldt, Handan Melike Donertas, Ricardo Rodríguez-Varela, Dmitry Shergin, Grigorij Ivanov, Dmitrii Kichigin, Kjunnej Pestere, Kjunnej Pestere Ineshin, Evgeniy Kovychev, Alexander Stepanov, Love Dalén, Torsten Günther, Emrah Kirdök, Mattias Jakobsson, Mehmet Somel, Maja Krzewinska, Jan Storå and Anders Götherström, January 6, 2021, Scientific developments.
DOI: 10.1126 / sciadv.abc4587