Eastern Hunter Gatherer - PES001

Eastern Hunter Gatherers (EHG) were a Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) population who inhabited a vast region stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Ural Mountains and down to the Pontic-Caspian steppe roughly between 14,000 and 9,000 years ago. Their ancestry likely stemmed from a mix of ancient North Eurasians and a western hunter-gatherer group. EHGs were skilled hunters and foragers, adapting their strategies to the diverse environments they lived in. They hunted large mammals like bison and reindeer, fished in rivers and lakes, and gathered a variety of plants and nuts. Their sophisticated toolkits included flint blades, bone points, and harpoons, reflecting their reliance on hunting and fishing. Evidence suggests they may have also practiced rudimentary forms of agriculture and lived in semi-permanent settlements. The EHGs played a crucial role in shaping the genetic makeup of modern Europeans as their descendants intermixed with other populations throughout history.