One of the last Siberian shamans was an 18th-century woman whose parents were related, DNA study reveals

The centuries-old mummified remains of Indigenous Siberians are revealing secrets about their genetics over a vast period — before, during and after Russia's conquest of their land — including that a female shaman buried in a red woolen dress had closely related parents, a new study finds.

Archaeologists recovered the naturally mummified remains of more than 100 Indigenous Yakuts who were buried in Siberia between the 14th and 19th centuries. Their DNA analysis of the bodies shows that the Yakuts resisted Russian attempts at conquest and Christianization in a way that typically isn't seen in Indigenous populations.

The researchers detailed their archaeogenetic investigations in Yakutia (also called the Sakha Republic), the northeastern part of Siberia and one of the coldest regions on the planet, in a study published Wednesday (Jan. 7) in the journal Nature. After nearly 16 years of archaeological excavation, researchers had uncovered 122 individuals from four regions of Yakutia dated to before and after the Russian Empire began its conquest of Siberia in 1632. The research team then analyzed the Indigenous Yakuts' DNA to test whether Russian conquest changed their genetics.

They found that the genetic origins of the modern Yakuts dated back to the 12th to 13th centuries, which confirms the Yakuts' oral histories. But unlike what happened in other colonial conquests — such as the Hispanic conquest of the Americas — the researchers did not find strong evidence of population decline or intermixing between Russians and Yakuts.

"The analyses show that Yakut genetic heritage has remained stable from the 16th century to today," study co-author Perle Guarino-Vignon, a postdoctoral researcher at the Saint-Antoine Research Center in Paris, said in a statement. "There was therefore no conquest through demographic replacement, possibly due to the logistical difficulties of settling in such an extreme environment."

The researchers also investigated the Yakuts' oral microbiome — the community of microorganisms that lives in a person's mouth — by analyzing the mummies' teeth and dental plaque. Although the scientists hypothesized that the microbiome would change over time due to Russian settlers' introduction of foods like barley, rye and tobacco, the analysis revealed that the Yakuts' microbiome was strikingly stable in spite of the Russian conquest.

Shamanism in Siberia

The Yakut graves also revealed that traditional shamanism was practiced well into the late 18th century, long after Russia had attempted to Christianize the Yakuts. The last Yakut shaman, a woman who was in her 30s when she died over 250 years ago, also held a DNA surprise: Her parents were second-degree relatives, which could mean they were half-siblings, uncle and niece or aunt and nephew, or grandparent and grandchild, study co-author Ludovic Orlando, a molecular geneticist at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), told Live Science in an email.

The last Yakut shamaness was discovered in central Yakutia at a site called Us Sergue, and the researchers refer to her as UsSergue1. She was buried in a tree-trunk coffin and wore several layers of clothing, including a traditional Yakut ushanka hat and leather thigh-high leg warmers. Although she wore a red woolen dress made from imported blankets, she also had characteristics of Indigenous shamans, including a "bride's belt" accessory. Nearby, archaeologists found a pit with three horse skeletons, one of which had accessories with designs matching the woman's dress.

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Archaeologists open the wooden coffin of UsSergue1, an 18th-century female shaman from Yakutia.

The mummified remains of UsSergue1, an 18th-century female shaman from Yakutia, after archaeologists opened the coffin.

Beaded accessories in the grave of UsSergue1, an 18th-century shaman from Yakutia.

A beaded mitten found in the coffin of UsSergue1, an 18th-century female shaman from Yakutia.

UsSergue1's "bride belt" — a shamanic accessory for women.

Several Indigenous Yakuts were buried with or near horses.

"We interpret UsSergue1 as an embodiment of her clan," Orlando said, as a way for them "to preserve their traditional and spiritual traditions." Around the time UsSergue1 was buried, Christianity was on the rise, but "some Yakut clans may have resisted and stuck to their traditions, including shamanism," Orlando added.

The high inbreeding level of UsSergue1 was a surprise, however. The researchers' DNA analysis of kinship among the skeletons revealed numerous relatives buried near one another, but UsSergue1 was the most inbred Yakut, the researchers wrote in the study. She was also descended from the most powerful clan and was the last shaman of her kind.

But the researchers don't know exactly how her parents were related or whether this union was considered anomalous.

"We can only tell that her parents were second-degree relatives," Orlando said. And since several other shaman burials were found, none of which had inbred parents, "we don't think that anyone needed to be a highly-consanguine person to be a shaman," Orlando added.

The historical Yakut burials gave the researchers a treasure trove of information about Indigenous life in centuries past. "Preservation in this environment is unmatched," study co-author Éric Crubézy, a biological anthropologist at CNRS, said in a statement, and "the bodies were so intact that we could conduct autopsies." Even beyond the bodies, "their clothing and jewellery also survived intact, providing a rare opportunity to compare biological and cultural data," Crubezy said.