Conny Waters – AncientPages.com – A new study by the University of Turku and partners provides fresh insights into an individual buried near Lake Kitka in Kuusamo, Finland, at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. DNA and isotope analyses show that the individual, whose grave has been linked to Sámi cultural heritage, had a genetic connection to present-day Sámi populations and spent part of his life outside Finland.
Credit: University of Turku
Researchers from the University of Turku used DNA and isotope analyses to study an individual whose grave was discovered near Lake Kitka in Kuusamo, Finland, in the 1970s. The individual lived at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries and the new research results shed more light on his life history.
Sámi Identity In Not A Biological Trait
DNA extracted from the teeth of the approximately 40-year-old man was compared with previously studied ancient and modern genomes. The results showed that the Kitka individual’s genetic profile was closest to that of present-day and historical Sámi. He also shared short DNA segments with present-day people of Finland, especially in North and Northeast Lapland, but clearly less in the Kuusamo region and further south.
“A similar pattern emerges when present-day Sámi are used in the comparison instead of the Kitka individual. This suggests that the results reflect broader historical interaction and admixture between Sámi and Finnish populations,” says Researcher Sanni Peltola from the University of Turku.
Peltola also emphasizes that although ancient DNA helps researchers understand population history, it does not define ethnicity or identity.
“Sámi identity is not a biological trait, but a historical, cultural, and social phenomenon,” she notes.
The Kitka burial has drawn significant interest from genetic genealogists. However, researchers note that DNA cannot reliably link individuals from this period to specific present-day families or individuals.
Who Was The Kitka Individual?
Isotope analysis of the teeth indicates that the Kitka individual arrived in Kuusamo shortly before his death. As a child, he ate terrestrial animals, freshwater fish, and marine resources. In adulthood, marine foods became more prominent, while freshwater fish, a key food in Kuusamo, disappeared from his diet. Isotope values in his drinking water suggest that during his teenage years, he lived in a region with geology distinct from that of Finland.
Lake Ktika, Finland. Credit: Fanny Schertzer – CC BY-SA 3.0
“The most likely location is a region with volcanic bedrock in the North Atlantic, likely Iceland. This interpretation is supported by historical evidence of contacts between Northern Fennoscandia and the North Atlantic during the 16th century,” says Senior Researcher Ulla Nordfors from the University of Turku.
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Earlier studies identified the Kitka individual as a noaidi, a Sámi shaman. The new study acknowledges this possibility, but indicates the individual’s life history was more complex than previously thought.
“The results show that historical Sámi communities and their social roles do not correspond to the images presented in older research literature,” Nordfors notes.
Source: University of Turku
Written by Conny Waters – AncientPages.com Staff Writer