A genomic history of the North Pontic Region from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age

PRJEB81468 Original Paper / DOI2025-02-0581 samples (study)

AI interpretationAI-generated

Ancient DNA reveals how three migration waves shaped North Pontic peoples and spread steppe ancestry into Europe.

This study analyzed genomes from 81 prehistoric individuals in the North Pontic Region, a crossroads between Old European farmers and Eurasian steppe pastoralists. It found that local foragers had mixed Balkan, Eastern hunter-gatherer, and farmer ancestry. Then, around 4500 BCE, migrants from the Caucasus-Lower Volga area mixed equally with Trypillian farmers to form Usatove culture, while a simultaneous wave mixed with foragers to become Serednii Stih. These Serednii Stih later gave rise to Yamna, who expanded across Eurasia. A key individual from Mykhailivka bridges the genetic gap, highlighting the region as a Yamna formation hub.

North Pontic foragers carried a mix of Balkan and Eastern hunter-gatherer, European farmer, and occasionally Caucasus hunter-gatherer ancestry.
Three distinct migration waves from the Caucasus-Lower Volga region: one mixed with farmers (Usatove), one with foragers (Serednii Stih), and the third became Yamna.
A genetically Yamna individual from Mykhailivka (3635–3383 BCE) fills the temporal gap between Serednii Stih and Yamna, pinpointing a likely Yamna homeland.

Sample interpretation

The site includes 67 samples, with 40 resolved Y-chromosome lineages. The most common Y-haplogroups are R-CTS1843 (5), I-P220 (3), R-M269 (3), and R-P310 (3), showing a strong presence of R1b lineages typical of steppe populations. Mitochondrial DNA is diverse, with H5b (3) and various U5 subclades (U5a1a1, U5a, U5a1) frequent, alongside T2 and H13a2b2a. Cultures represented include Zhivotilovka, Ukraine_MBA_MultiCordonedWare_Babine, and Ukraine_N, reflecting the region's dynamic cultural transitions.

For genealogy enthusiasts

For ancestry enthusiasts, this study clarifies the genetic roots of Yamna and their spread into Europe. It shows that R1b-M269 and its downstream branches, common in modern Europeans, were central to these steppe migrations. The North Pontic was not just a pass-through but a melting pot where diverse groups mixed, shaping the genetic landscape of Bronze Age Eurasia.

Abstract

The North Pontic Region was the meeting point of the farmers of Old Europe and the foragers and pastoralists of the Eurasian steppe1,2, and the source of migrations deep into Europe3,4,5. Here we report genome-wide data from 81 prehistoric North Pontic individuals to understand the genetic makeup of its people. North Pontic foragers had ancestry from Balkan and Eastern hunter-gatherers6 as well as European farmers and, occasionally, Caucasus hunter-gatherers. During the Eneolithic period, a wave of migrants from the Caucasus–Lower Volga area7 bypassed local foragers to mix in equal parts with Trypillian farmers, forming the people of the Usatove culture around 4500 bce. A temporally overlapping wave of migrants from the Caucasus–Lower Volga blended with foragers instead of farmers to form Serednii Stih people7. The third wave was the Yamna—descendants of the Serednii Stih who formed by mixture around 4000 bce and expanded during the Early Bronze Age (3300 bce). The temporal gap between Serednii Stih and the Yamna is bridged by a genetically Yamna individual from Mykhailivka, Ukraine (3635–3383 bce), a site of archaeological continuity across the Eneolithic–Bronze Age transition and a likely epicentre of Yamna formation. Each of these three waves of migration propagated distinctive ancestries while also incorporating outsiders, a flexible strategy that may explain the success of the peoples of the North Pontic in spreading their genes and culture across Eurasia

Samples & Data on TheYtree

67samples on site

40Y haplogroup resolved

1archaeological sites

Sample Map

Map tiles by TheYtree · dot size = number of samples

Paternal (Y-DNA) Haplogroups

Haplogroup	Samples
R-CTS1843	5
R-M269	3
R-P310	3
I-P220	3
R-L51	2
I-L699	2
R-BY44400	2
R-M12149	2
R-PF6162	2
J-PF4610	1
E-M78	1
J-Z42969	1

Maternal (mtDNA) Haplogroups

H5b · 3 U5a · 2 T2 · 2 H13a2b2a · 2 U5a1 · 2 HV-T16311C! · 2 H6a1 · 2 U4d3 · 2 U5a1a1 · 2 U5a1g1 · 1

Sample Highlights More samples →

Sample	Y-DNA	mtDNA	Culture / Period
I2110	G-Z39332	T2b
I17973	J-Z42969	U1a1a	Zhivotilovka_I17973· 3354-3103 calBC (4516±13 BP)
I1456	R-PF6162	U5a2a
I1423	R-M459	X1'2'3
I1424	I-P220	U5a1
I1430	I-P220	H13
I1924	R-P310	U5b2
I1926_enhanced	G-Z6885	H5a
I2108	R-P310	U2e1
I7586	R-L51	J1c2