Population genomics of Mesolithic Scandinavia: Investigating early postglacial migration routes and high-latitude adaptation.

ABSTRACT: Scandinavia was one of the last geographic areas in Europe to become habitable for humans after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). However, the routes and genetic composition of these postglacial migrants remain unclear. We sequenced the genomes, up to 57× coverage, of seven hunter-gatherers excavated across Scandinavia and dated from 9,500-6,000 years before present (BP). Surprisingly, among the Scandinavian Mesolithic individuals, the genetic data display an east-west genetic gradient that opposes the pattern seen in other parts of Mesolithic Europe. Our results suggest two different early postglacial migrations into Scandinavia: initially from the south, and later, from the northeast. The latter followed the ice-free Norwegian north Atlantic coast, along which novel and advanced pressure-b

SUBMITTER: Gunther T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5760011 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature