Reference library / Sample profile

A man buried in Russia in the Pleistocene era

Explore the recorded context, genetic comparisons and research behind this reference sample.

RussiaUpper Paleolithic Yana, Russia

A reference profile describes this sample. It does not establish a personal or family relationship.

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AI-generated artistic reconstruction, not a photograph of the individual.

Record

Sample details

Recorded details and available lineage markers.

Individual

Paleolithic individual, Russia

Sample ID: Yana1

Date Range

30250 BCE - 29550 BCE

Cultural Period

Upper Paleolithic Yana, Russia

Biological Sex

Male

mtDNA Haplogroup

U2'3'4'7'8'9

Y-DNA Haplogroup

P-FT344715

Social Role

Hunter (AI estimate, era-typical)

Geography

Location

Where this individual was discovered

Country Russia

Locality Yana RHS

Coordinates 70.7200, 135.4200

Chronology

Date range

When this individual lived in the broader context of human history

Paleolithic individual, Russia 30250 BCE - 29550 BCE

Context

Historical context

Background information associated with the reference record.

Overview

The Upper Paleolithic Yana Culture is associated with human occupation in Siberia during the Pleistocene, dated here to about 30,000–20,000 BCE. Its archaeological record is used to understand how people organized hunting, tool production, and settlement choices in a northern environment.

Region & Environment

The setting is Siberia, characterized during the Upper Paleolithic by cold conditions and highly seasonal ecosystems. Resource availability would have varied by landscape and season, with opportunities concentrated where game and raw materials could be accessed efficiently.

Historical Context

This time period falls within the latter part of the Pleistocene, when climatic fluctuations affected both habitats and the distribution of animal populations. Within these constraints, Upper Paleolithic groups maintained flexible strategies to secure food and to produce and repair equipment.

Populations & Lifeways

Populations were hunter-gatherers. Their lifeways would have involved repeated use of landscapes suitable for hunting and for procurement of stone and organic materials, with mobility shaped by animal behavior and seasonal conditions. Daily tasks likely centered on producing tools, processing animal products, and maintaining gear for travel and hunting.

Archaeology & Material Culture

Yana Culture assemblages are typically recognized through distinctive stone tool and related artifact patterns characteristic of Siberian Upper Paleolithic traditions. Organic materials (such as bone/antler) are often significant in Upper Paleolithic contexts of this kind, reflecting adaptation to available raw resources and the functional needs of hunting and processing.

Culture & Society

While the archaeological record cannot directly reveal beliefs or political organization, it can demonstrate regularities in technology and artifact style that imply shared knowledge and learned practices. Such patterns suggest social continuity within groups and transmission of techniques over generations.

Legacy & Transition

The Upper Paleolithic record in Siberia provides a foundation for understanding later changes in technology and settlement that occurred after the Pleistocene. Transitions out of the Upper Paleolithic involved shifts in climate and resources; how precisely the Yana Culture relates to later regional traditions depends on archaeological continuity across well-dated sequences.

Analysis

Genetic comparisons

These comparisons show genetic similarity, not identity or origin. The populations listed are those whose genomes show statistical alignment to this ancient individual.

Similarity reflects shared history, not shared identity. These are analytical comparisons, not claims about who this person was.

Modern Genetic Admixture

This analysis compares the DNA profile with present-day reference populations, showing statistical similarity to modern reference populations from different regions. The excavation site records where this individual was found, not a fixed modern genetic identity.

Asia 41.8%

Central Asian, Northern Indian & Pakistani 26.8%

Indian 26.8%

Chinese & Southeast Asian 8.7%

Chinese 4.3%

Indonesian Khmer Thai Myanma 2.9%

Vietnamese 1.4%

Northern Asian 4.5%

Siberian 4.5%

Japanese & Korean 1.9%

Japanese 1.9%

Europe 37.7%

Northwestern European 19.8%

Finnish 6.2%

English 5.2%

Northwestern European 4.5%

Scandinavian 3.8%

Eastern European 16.5%

Southern European 1.4%

Sardinian 1.1%

Oceania 8.1%

Melanesian 8.1%

Papuan 8.1%

Africa 7.2%

West African 3.5%

Ghanaian, Liberian, Sierra Leonean 3.1%

Northern East African 2.4%

Ethiopian 2.4%

African Hunter-Gatherer 1.3%

America 5.2%

Native American 5.2%

Closest Modern Populations

These are the modern populations showing the closest statistical alignment to A man buried in Russia in the Pleistocene era, ranked by genetic distance. Lower distance values indicate closer statistical similarity. Cross-region similarity can reflect shared ancestry, population movement, continuity, or later admixture.

Uzbek

11.6002

Tatar Crimean Steppe

11.7240

Turkmen Uzbekistan

11.9179

Turkmen

12.0633

Tatar Lipka

12.3016

Hazara O

12.5224

Pamiri Sarikoli

12.5642

Balti

12.7426

Maori

12.8465

Nepali Indo Aryan B

12.9191