🌲 How Uralic and Yeniseian ancestries formed

Ancient DNA across the North Eurasian forests shows two key source lineages. One, called Yakutia_LNBA (from the Lena Valley), moved west around 4,000 years ago, appears at Seima–Turbino sites, and today makes up most of the East Asian–related ancestry in Uralic speakers (and aligns with Y-haplogroup N).

The other, Cisbaikal_LNBA (west of Lake Baikal), tracks Yeniseian groups in Central Siberia and helps explain genetic ties that support a Dene–Yeniseian link. Earlier, the region was a continuous hunter-gatherer cline that later fragmented as these movements unfolded.

Takeaway: Uralic ancestry in Europe is best traced to a Yakutia_LNBA wave spreading west with Seima–Turbino networks, while Cisbaikal_LNBA marks Yeniseian expansions in Central Siberia.

Source: Lipson et al., 2025. Ancient DNA reveals the prehistory of the Uralic and Yeniseian peoples.