Expanding Concept and Methodology for human past studies in the Eastern Baltics countries

Together with Baltic partners from the University of Latvia and Vilnius University, and EU partners from the University of Copenhagen and KU Leuven, we the Institute of Genomics is starting a new EU Horizon Europe Twinning project ECHO (2024-2027), with the archaeogenomics research group at the Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu. The project aims to jointly promote the studies of the human past in the Baltic region through collaboration between the researchers of humanities and natural sciences, enabling us to gain new knowledge from each other.

Comprehensive understanding of the human past in the Eastern Baltic area requires well-coordinated cooperation between various disciplines and excellent analytical competence. Acknowledging this, the EU-funded ECHO project is consolidating expertise from archaeologists, geneticists and anthropologists across Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and is teaming up with advanced centres from Belgium and Denmark to untangle the intricacies of human evolution and cultural dynamics in the region. Cutting-edge tools and management techniques will drive this interdisciplinary endeavour, shedding light on overlooked regional developments in the post-Bronze Age period. Through ECHO’s collaborative network, Eastern Baltic research will gain prominence on the global stage, enriching our understanding of the origins of human diversity.