The Genetic History of Northern Europe

Recent ancient DNA studies have revealed that the genetic history of modern Europeans was shaped by a series of migration and admixture events between deeply diverged groups. While these events are well described in Central and Southern Europe, genetic evidence from Northern Europe surrounding the Baltic Sea is still sparse. Here we report genome-wide DNA data from 24 ancient North Europeans ranging from ~7,500 to 200 calBCE spanning the transition from a hunter-gatherer to an agricultural lifestyle, as well as the adoption of bronze metallurgy. We show that Scandinavia was settled after the retreat of the glacial ice sheets from a southern and a northern route, and that the first Scandinavian Neolithic farmers derive their ancestry from Anatolia 1000 years earlier than previously demonstrated. The range of Western European Mesolithic hunter-gatherers extended to the east of the Baltic Sea, where these populations persisted without gene-flow from Central European farmers until around 2,900 calBCE when the arrival of steppe pastoralists introduced a major shift in economy and established wide-reaching networks of contact within the Corded Ware Complex.

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Variation of growth and phenology traits in poplars planted in clonal trials in Northern Europe—implications for breeding

BioEnergy Research ◽

10.1007/s12155-021-10262-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Anneli Adler ◽

Almir Karacic ◽

Ann-Christin Rönnberg Wästljung ◽

Ulf Johansson ◽

Kaspars Liepins ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Baltic Sea ◽

Populus Trichocarpa ◽

Selection Criterion ◽

Volume Index ◽

Northern Europe ◽

Bud Burst ◽

The Baltic Sea ◽

European Climate ◽

Baltic Sea Region ◽

The Baltic

AbstractThe increased demand for wood to replace oil-based products with renewable products has lifted focus to the Baltic Sea region where the environment is favorable for woody biomass growth. The aim of this study was to estimate broad-sense heritabilities and genotype-by-environment (G×E) interactions in growth and phenology traits in six climatically different regions in Sweden and the Baltics. We tested the hypothesis that both bud burst and bud set have a significant effect on the early growth of selected poplar clones in Northern Europe. Provenance hybrids of Populus trichocarpa adapted to the Northern European climate were compared to reference clones with adaptation to the Central European climate. The volume index of stemwood was under low to medium genetic control with heritabilities from 0.22 to 0.75. Heritabilities for phenology traits varied between 0.31 and 0.91. Locally chosen elite clones were identified. G×E interactions were analyzed using pairwise comparisons of the trials. Three different breeding zones for poplars between the latitudes of 55° N and 60° N in the Baltic Sea Region were outlined. The studied provenance hybrids with origin from North America offer a great possibility to broaden the area with commercial poplar plantations in Northern Europe and further improve the collection of commercial clones to match local climates. We conclude that phenology is an important selection criterion after growth.

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Contacts and Networks in the Baltic Sea Region

10.5117/9789462982635 ◽

2019 ◽

Keyword(s):

Baltic Sea ◽

Final Section ◽

Religious Studies ◽

The Baltic Sea ◽

Cultural Goods ◽

The Third ◽

Baltic Sea Region ◽

The World ◽

History Of ◽

The Baltic

Since prehistoric times, the Baltic Sea has functioned as a northern mare nostrum — a crucial nexus that has shaped the languages, folklore, religions, literature, technology, and identities of the Germanic, Finnic, Sámi, Baltic, and Slavic peoples. This anthology explores the networks among those peoples. The contributions to Contacts and Networks in the Baltic Sea Region: Austmarr as a Northern mare nostrum, ca. 500-1500 ad address different aspects of cultural contacts around and across the Baltic from the perspectives of history, archaeology, linguistics, literary studies, religious studies, and folklore. The introduction offers a general overview of crosscultural contacts in the Baltic Sea region as a framework for contextualizing the volume’s twelve chapters, organized in four sections. The first section concerns geographical conceptions as revealed in Old Norse and in classical texts through place names, terms of direction, and geographical descriptions. The second section discusses the movement of cultural goods and persons in connection with elite mobility, the slave trade, and rune-carving practice. The third section turns to the history of language contacts and influences, using examples of Finnic names in runic inscriptions and Low German loanwords in Finnish. The final section analyzes intercultural connections related to mythology and religion spanning Baltic, Finnic, Germanic, and Sámi cultures. Together these diverse articles present a dynamic picture of this distinctive part of the world.

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The History of Cyanobacterial Blooms in the Baltic Sea

AMBIO ◽

10.1579/0044-7447-30.4.172 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 30 (4) ◽

pp. 172-178 ◽

Cited By ~ 140

Author(s):

Terttu Finni ◽

Kaisa Kononen ◽

Riitta Olsonen ◽

Kerstin Wallström

Keyword(s):

Baltic Sea ◽

Cyanobacterial Blooms ◽

The Baltic Sea ◽

History Of ◽

The Baltic

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Bacteriohopanepolyols record stratification, nitrogen fixation and other biogeochemical perturbations in Holocene sediments of the central Baltic Sea

Biogeosciences ◽

10.5194/bg-10-2725-2013 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 2725-2735 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

M. Blumenberg ◽

C. Berndmeyer ◽

M. Moros ◽

M. Muschalla ◽

O. Schmale ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Baltic Sea ◽

Water Column ◽

Stable Stratification ◽

The Baltic Sea ◽

Allochthonous Input ◽

The North ◽

Water Column Stratification ◽

Gotland Deep ◽

History Of ◽

The Baltic

Abstract. The Baltic Sea, one of the world's largest brackish-marine basins, established after deglaciation of Scandinavia about 17 000 to 15 000 yr ago. In the changeable history of the Baltic Sea, the initial freshwater system was connected to the North Sea about 8000 yr ago and the modern brackish-marine setting (Littorina Sea) was established. Today, a relatively stable stratification has developed in the water column of the deep basins due to salinity differences. Stratification is only occasionally interrupted by mixing events, and it controls nutrient availability and growth of specifically adapted microorganisms and algae. We studied bacteriohopanepolyols (BHPs), lipids of specific bacterial groups, in a sediment core from the central Baltic Sea (Gotland Deep) and found considerable differences between the distinct stages of the Baltic Sea's history. Some individual BHP structures indicate contributions from as yet unknown redoxcline-specific bacteria (bacteriohopanetetrol isomer), methanotrophic bacteria (35-aminobacteriohopanetetrol), cyanobacteria (bacteriohopanetetrol cyclitol ether isomer) and from soil bacteria (adenosylhopane) through allochthonous input after the Littorina transgression, whereas the origin of other BHPs in the core has still to be identified. Notably high BHP abundances were observed in the deposits of the brackish-marine Littorina phase, particularly in laminated sediment layers. Because these sediments record periods of stable water column stratification, bacteria specifically adapted to these conditions may account for the high portions of BHPs. An additional and/or accompanying source may be nitrogen-fixing (cyano)bacteria, which is indicated by a positive correlation of BHP abundances with Corg and δ15N.

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Słowianie w Historii powszechnej Teofilakta Simokatty – bizantyńska perspektywa aksjologiczna

Slavia Meridionalis ◽

10.11649/sm.1335 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 17 ◽

Author(s):

Anna Kotłowska

Keyword(s):

Roman Empire ◽

Baltic Sea ◽

High Reliability ◽

Sixth Century ◽

The Baltic Sea ◽

The Balkans ◽

Universal History ◽

History Of ◽

The Baltic

Slavs in Theophylact Simocatta’s „Universal History” – a Byzantine axiological perspectiveThe Universal History of Theophylact Simocatta constitutes a very important source for the history of the Later Roman Empire, especially within the context of appearance of the Avars and the Slavs in the Balkans. This article confirms the high reliability and great value of Theophylact’ s narrative concerning the Slavs in the last two decades of the sixth century. In the second part, some new remarks have been given, which argue for the authenticity of the famous episode about Slavs “living at the end of the Western Ocean” (6.2). Moreover, the author is firmly convinced that the so-called Western Ocean should be identified with the Baltic Sea. Słowianie w Historii powszechnej Teofilakta Simokatty – bizantyńska perspektywa aksjologiczna Historia powszechna Teofilakta Simokatty stanowi bardzo istotne źródło do dziejów późnego Cesarstwa Rzymskiego, m.in. w kontekście pojawienia się Awarów i Słowian na Bałkanach. Przedłożony artykuł potwierdza wysoką wiarygodność i faktograficzne znaczenie narracji Teofilakta odnośnie do Słowiańszczyzny ostatnich dwóch dziesięcioleci VI wieku. Druga część artykułu zawiera nową argumentację na rzecz autentyczności słynnego epizodu o Słowianach „mieszkających przy krańcu zachodniego Oceanu”. Autorka jest przekonana, że tzw. „zachodni Ocean” należy utożsamić z Morzem Bałtyckim.

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