Museum Centre Vapriikki:Ancient DNA Reveals 800-year-old Family Link in Medieval Finland

Ancient DNA research led by the Museum Centre Vapriikki in Tampere, Finland, in collaboration with the universities of Turku and Helsinki, has produced new insights into kinship, health, and population continuity in medieval and early modern Finland. Published in the peer-reviewed journal iScience, the research presents results from 25 individuals in Finland – a significant result in a country where acidic soils often lead to poor preservation of bones and genetic material.

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The woman’s grave in Vilusenharju, Tampere was discovered in 1962, and the man’s grave in Ristiänmäki, Pälkäne in 1982. Ancient DNA research has now revealed that the deceased were siblings. Illustrations by Veronika Paschenko. Photo by Vapriikki.

Researchers successfully recovered DNA from individuals buried between the 12th and 19th centuries at three cemeteries in the Tampere region. The study is part of Vapriikki’s research project that applies scientific methods to investigate the region’s past.

Family ties and genetic continuity

One of the study’s findings was the discovery of full siblings buried 30 kilometers apart. A woman buried in Tampere and a man in Pälkäne, both from the 12th century, were confirmed to be sister and brother.

“This provides tangible evidence of family connections between different communities,” says Dr. Ulla Nordfors, researcher at Vapriikki.

Comparisons with over 4,000 modern Finnish genomes from the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare’s biobank revealed that the ancient individuals from Tampere region share the closest genetic affinities with people living in the same region today.

“These results point to a remarkable degree of genetic continuity in the area since at least the early Middle Ages,” says Sanni Peltola, a doctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki.

Additional genetic links were detected between Finnish individuals and previously published ancient genomes from Scandinavia and the Lake Ladoga region, providing evidence of mobility and cultural contacts in the Viking Age and beyond.

“Although the dataset is relatively small, the findings clearly show that medieval Finland was not isolated,” Peltola notes. “It was part of the wider networks of interaction that shaped northern Europe.”

Health and traits revealed

The analysis also recovered microbial DNA that sheds light on health in past populations. Bacteria in 13th-century dental calculus included species linked to both oral and systemic health. DNA from a post-medieval man revealed the presence of Treponema, a bacterial genus that includes the causative agent of syphilis.

Hereditary traits were also uncovered. Most individuals were lactose tolerant, like modern Finns, and a 12th-century man likely had corneal dystrophy, a degenerative eye disease that may have impaired his vision.

“Genes cannot capture the full complexity of a person and their life, but learning about health, traits, and family ties can help us see ancient people as individuals who once lived, felt, and experienced the world,” says Nordfors. “When interpreted within their archaeological and historical context, these details allow us to approach the past on a more human level.”

Archaeogenetics reveals fine-scale genetic continuity and patterns of kinship and health in medieval Finland: iScience

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