Traces of Siberian Genes Detected in Some Northern Europeans

TARTU, ESTONIA—Gizmodo reports that a new study of genetics, archaeology, and linguistics led by Lehti Saag of the University of Tartu suggests Uralic languages such as Estonian and Finnish can be linked to ancient, migrating Siberian populations. Saag and her colleagues obtained usable DNA samples from the teeth of 33 people who lived in what is now Estonia between 3,200 and 2,000 years ago. Their analysis suggests Siberians arrived in the eastern Baltic no later than some 2,500 years ago. The Siberians are also thought to have introduced light eyes, hair, and skin, and lactose intolerance, to the local northern European population. This information corresponds with linguistic information suggesting that Uralic languages emerged in the Baltic during the period of transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age. To read about the discovery of several Viking ships on an Estonian island, go to “The First Vikings.”