In archaeogenetics, the term Ancient North Eurasian (ANE) is the name given to an ancestral component that represents the lineage of the people of the Mal'ta–Buret' culture and populations closely related to them, such as the Upper Paleolithic individuals from Afontova Gora in Siberia. Genetic studies also revealed that the ANE are closely related to the remains of the preceding Yana Culture, which were dubbed as 'Ancient North Siberians' (ANS), and which either are directly ancestral to the ANE, or both being closely related sister lineages, sharing a common ancestral source population. The Ancient North Eurasians are deeply related to Paleolithic and Mesolithic European hunter-gatherers, but also derive a small amount of their ancestry from a deep East Eurasian source, which they received in Siberia. Their 'Ancient West Eurasian' ancestry is represented by a lineage closer to Kostenki-14, while their 'Ancient East Eurasian' ancestry is represented by a lineage closer to the Tianyuan man.
Ancient North Eurasian
Mal'ta–Buret' culture ivory figurines (c. 24,000 BP-c. 15,000 BP). Some of the figurines wear hooded overalls with decorative stripes.
The Mal'ta boy (MA-1), dated 24,000 BP, with tomb artifacts, Hermitage Museum (Hall 11), Saint-Petersburg.
A qpGraph model by Maier et al. 2023, showing the possible formation of Ancient North Siberians/Eurasians (ANS/ANE) and their subsequent contribution to the Ancient Paleo-Siberians and Native Americans.
The Mal'ta–Buret' culture is an archaeological culture of the Upper Paleolithic. It is located roughly northwest of Lake Baikal, about 90km to the northwest of Irkutsk, on the banks of the upper Angara River.
The Mal'ta-Buret' people lived in dwellings built of mammoth bones, similar to those found in Upper Paleolithic Europe.
Malta artefacts, Moscow State Historical Museum.
A replica of the Venus figurine of Mal'ta discovered with the remains of the Mal'ta boy (MA-1, dated 24,000 BP).
Mal'ta boy (MA-1), dated 24,000 BP, with tomb artifacts, Hermitage Museum, Saint-Petersburg.