Baltic Finns

Theories of origin

The origin of the people who lived around the Baltic Sea area during the Mesolithic Era continues to be debated by scientists. From the middle of the Neolithic onward, there is a certain extent of agreement among scholars: it has been suggested that Finno-Ugric tribes arrived in the Baltic region from the east or south-east around the period 4000–3000 BC and merged with the original inhabitants, who then adopted the proto-Finno-Ugric language and the Pit–Comb Ware culture of the newcomers. The members of this new Finno-Ugric-speaking ethnicity are thought to be the ancestors of modern-day Estonians. The Y-chromosomal data has also revealed a common Finno-Ugric ancestry for the males of the neighbouring Balts, speakers of the Indo-European Baltic languages. According to the studies, Baltic males are most closely related to the Volga Finns such as the Mari, rather than to Baltic Finns. The results suggest that the territories of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have been settled by Finno-Ugric tribes since the early Mesolithic period.