Paleolithic to Bronze Age Siberians Reveal Connections with First Americans and across Eurasia

Modern humans have inhabited the Lake Baikal region since the Upper Paleolithic, though the precise history of its peoples over this long time span is still largely unknown. Here, we report genome-wide data from 19 Upper Paleolithic to Early Bronze Age individuals from this Siberian region. An Upper Paleolithic genome shows a direct link with the First Americans by sharing the admixed ancestry that gave rise to all non-Arctic Native Americans. We also demonstrate the formation of Early Neolithic and Bronze Age Baikal populations as the result of prolonged admixture throughout the eighth to sixth millennium BP. Moreover, we detect genetic interactions with western Eurasian steppe populations and reconstruct Yersinia pestis genomes from two Early Bronze Age individuals without western Eurasian ancestry. Overall, our study demonstrates the most deeply divergent connection between Upper Paleolithic Siberians and the First Americans and reveals human and pathogen mobility across Eurasia during the Bronze Age. [Display omitted] •An Upper Paleolithic Siberian shows a deep link with the First Peoples of the Americas•A 10,000-year continuum of Ancient North Eurasian ancestry in the Lake Baikal region•The Neolithic to Bronze Age population formation occurred through prolonged local admixture•Long-range human and Y. pestis mobility across Eurasia during the Early Bronze Age Genome-wide ancient DNA data from the Lake Baikal and its surroundings, comprising a time transect of 10,000 years from the Upper Paleolithic to the Early Bronze Age, reveals deeply divergent ancestry that links Upper Paleolithic Siberians and the First Peoples of the Americas and delineates the complex transition between Early Neolithic and Early Bronze Age populations in Siberia.