Do Saami have the least Steppe in Northern Europe?

Question/Discussion

They seem to be very Steppe depressed compared to their neighbors in the region e.g. Finns, Germanics and Slavs who seem much more Yamnaya derived.

Target: Saami_Sweden_(n=13)

Distance: 4.0037% / 0.04003687

23.6 Russia_Samara_Mesolithic_(EHG)_(n=2)

20.6 Yamnaya_RUS_Samara

19.2 Nganasan_(n=61)

16.0 Sweden_Mesolithic_Motala_(n=5)

15.2 TUR_Barcin_N

5.4 Russia_Shamanka_Eneolithic.SG

Target: Saami_Norway_(n=2)

Distance: 4.3203% / 0.04320280

27.4 Russia_Samara_Mesolithic_(EHG)_(n=2)

21.8 Nganasan_(n=61)

16.6 Sweden_Mesolithic_Motala_(n=5)

16.4 TUR_Barcin_N

14.6 Yamnaya_RUS_Samara

3.2 Russia_Shamanka_Eneolithic.SG

Some individual Saamis

Target: Saami:GS000035025

Distance: 4.9966% / 0.04996629

33.6 Russia_Samara_Mesolithic_(EHG)_(n=2)

23.4 Nganasan_(n=61)

14.4 TUR_Barcin_N

12.4 Sweden_Mesolithic_Motala_(n=5)

12.4 Yamnaya_RUS_Samara

3.8 Russia_Shamanka_Eneolithic.SG

Compare to others in Northern Europe:

Target: Norwegian_(n=37)

Distance: 4.6217% / 0.04621737

49.0 Yamnaya_RUS_Samara

34.2 TUR_Barcin_N

15.4 WHG

1.4 Russia_Samara_Mesolithic_(EHG)_(n=2)

Target: Swedish_(n=113)

Distance: 4.5132% / 0.04513248

46.0 Yamnaya_RUS_Samara

33.4 TUR_Barcin_N

11.8 Sweden_Mesolithic_Motala_(n=5)

8.8 WHG

Yamnaya in Finns, Balts and other NE Europeans seem to decrease? Does this means NE Europeans have more direct EHG and less Steppe (which also means lower CHG) than thought?

Target: Finnish_(n=50)

Distance: 5.1293% / 0.05129314

35.6 Yamnaya_RUS_Samara

26.4 Sweden_Mesolithic_Motala_(n=5)

26.4 TUR_Barcin_N

6.8 Russia_Samara_Mesolithic_(EHG)_(n=2)

4.6 Nganasan_(n=61)

0.2 Russia_Shamanka_Eneolithic.SG

Target: Latvian_(n=7)

Distance: 7.6202% / 0.07620158

38.2 Yamnaya_RUS_Samara

31.4 Sweden_Mesolithic_Motala_(n=5)

26.6 TUR_Barcin_N

3.8 Russia_Samara_Mesolithic_(EHG)_(n=2)

Target: Estonian_(n=11)

Distance: 6.7519% / 0.06751923

34.6 Yamnaya_RUS_Samara

28.4 TUR_Barcin_N

27.6 Sweden_Mesolithic_Motala_(n=5)

9.4 Russia_Samara_Mesolithic_(EHG)_(n=2)

Target: Lithuanian_East_Aukstaitija_(n=10)

Distance: 7.7344% / 0.07734367

37.6 Yamnaya_RUS_Samara

29.2 TUR_Barcin_N

29.0 Sweden_Mesolithic_Motala_(n=5)

4.2 Russia_Samara_Mesolithic_(EHG)_(n=2)

Target: Belarusian_(n=23)

Distance: 6.7332% / 0.06733221

36.2 Yamnaya_RUS_Samara

33.6 TUR_Barcin_N

24.6 Sweden_Mesolithic_Motala_(n=5)

5.6 Russia_Samara_Mesolithic_(EHG)_(n=2)

Target: Russian_Oryol_(n=11)

Distance: 6.2983% / 0.06298317

38.2 Yamnaya_RUS_Samara

34.2 TUR_Barcin_N

20.6 Sweden_Mesolithic_Motala_(n=5)

7.0 Russia_Samara_Mesolithic_(EHG)_(n=2)

Target: Polish_(n=60)

Distance: 5.6289% / 0.05628872

39.6 Yamnaya_RUS_Samara

35.6 TUR_Barcin_N

24.8 Sweden_Mesolithic_Motala_(n=5)

It seems to rebound again in other Germanics

Target: German_Hamburg_(n=16)

Distance: 4.1568% / 0.04156834

45.6 Yamnaya_RUS_Samara

37.8 TUR_Barcin_N

10.4 WHG

6.2 Sweden_Mesolithic_Motala_(n=5)

Target: English_(n=44)

Distance: 4.4464% / 0.04446429

46.8 Yamnaya_RUS_Samara

38.8 TUR_Barcin_N

14.4 WHG

Target: Scottish_(n=35)

Distance: 4.7063% / 0.04706293

49.2 Yamnaya_RUS_Samara

36.8 TUR_Barcin_N

14.0 WHG

But anyway it looks like Saami have the least Steppe in Northern Europe?

After Sardinians, Aegean Greeks, Maniots, South Italians, Maltese, Sicilians, Basques, several other Iberians etc. do Saami also have one of the lowest Yamnaya/IE input in the continent?

Saami seem to have lower than many Southern Europeans including Balkanites, for example.

Target: Albanian_Tosk_(n=24)

Distance: 2.0634% / 0.02063424

57.8 TUR_Barcin_N

34.2 Yamnaya_RUS_Samara

3.6 Levant_PPNB

2.2 IRN_Ganj_Dareh_N

2.2 Sweden_Mesolithic_Motala_(n=5)

Target: Macedonian_North_Macedonia_(n=32)

Distance: 2.9667% / 0.02966683

54.0 TUR_Barcin_N

37.6 Yamnaya_RUS_Samara

5.2 Sweden_Mesolithic_Motala_(n=5)

2.8 Levant_PPNB

0.4 IRN_Ganj_Dareh_N

Target: Bosniak_Sandzak_(n=6)

Distance: 3.3432% / 0.03343224

53.0 TUR_Barcin_N

37.2 Yamnaya_RUS_Samara

9.8 Sweden_Mesolithic_Motala_(n=5)

Target: Romanian_(n=28)

Distance: 3.4383% / 0.03438331

49.2 TUR_Barcin_N

39.0 Yamnaya_RUS_Samara

9.2 Sweden_Mesolithic_Motala_(n=5)

2.2 Levant_PPNB

0.4 Russia_Shamanka_Eneolithic.SG

Some more Southern Europeans:

Target: Italian_Tuscany_(Tuscan)_(n=23)

Distance: 1.9896% / 0.01989627

58.4 TUR_Barcin_N

33.4 Yamnaya_RUS_Samara

3.0 Israel_Epipaleolithic_Natufian_(n=2)

2.8 WHG

2.4 IRN_Ganj_Dareh_N

Target: Greek_Epirus_(n=13)

Distance: 2.3120% / 0.02311975

55.6 TUR_Barcin_N

34.6 Yamnaya_RUS_Samara

3.6 IRN_Ganj_Dareh_N

3.6 Levant_PPNB

1.4 WHG

1.2 Sweden_Mesolithic_Motala_(n=5)

Posted Mar 5, 2026, 11:38 AM UTC

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