Z16981 members belong to Haplogroup N which arose in East Asia approximately 20000 (± 5000) years age.
Males carrying the marker N-M231 apparently moved northwards as the climate warmed,
migrating in path (throughmodern China and Mongolia), wandering along the Steppe areas to west.

Haplogroup N has a wide geographic distribution throughout northern Eurasia. It has been found with greatest frequency among indigenous peoples of Russia, including Uralic peoples,Turkic peoples (Yakuts, Dolgans, Khakasses, Tuvans, Tatars,Chuvashes, etc.), Buryats, Tungusic peoples (Evenks, Evens, Negidals, etc.), Yukaghirs, Luoravetlans (Chukchis, Koryaks), and Siberian Eskimos, but certain subclades are very common in Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania,and other subclades are quite common in China (Yi, Naxi, Lhoba, Han Chinese,etc.). Especially in ethnic Finnic peoplesand Baltic-speaking peoples of northern Europe, the Ob-Ugric-speaking and Northern Samoyed peoples of western Siberia, the Siberian Turkic-speaking Yakuts, Altaians and Shors. 

Our genetic branch N-Z16981 arose 2600 (±400) years before present from pre-Baltic population N-L1025, who had spread to the Baltic region.