Genetics is helping us to get a clearer picture of human origins and I think that is fantastic! It’s helping to expose and expel some of the myths we’ve had about our origins and frequently now we are finding that what we once thought, was, was not! And what we thought was not, was indeed so!
One of the questions genetics is helping to answer is where the Scandinavian people originated. Genetics is helping us to track human migrations. As the last Ice Age began to give way to our present warming period ancient hunter-gatherers began to explore new lands and some of those ancient hunter-gatherers from the south about 11.7 kya began to migrate into Scandinavia and settle there. Exactly who these people were is still unknown but a recent study involving the sequencing of genomes of seven hunter-gatherers between 9.5–6 kyr has given us some clues.
One puzzle that has stumped researchers when it comes to the ancient people of Scandinavia is that there was a major shift in stone tool technology that came about soon after these people migrated into Scandinavia. It appears that this new stone tool technology had its origins in Eastern Europe! That’s quite a ways from Scandinavia. Continue Reading