Post by Admin on Dec 28, 2021 22:11:22 GMT
Ancient DNA provides new insights into the history of south Siberian Kurgan people
Christine Keyser 1, Caroline Bouakaze, Eric Crubézy, Valery G Nikolaev, Daniel Montagnon, Tatiana Reis, Bertrand Ludes
Abstract
To help unravel some of the early Eurasian steppe migration movements, we determined the Y-chromosomal and mitochondrial haplotypes and haplogroups of 26 ancient human specimens from the Krasnoyarsk area dated from between the middle of the second millennium BC. to the fourth century AD. In order to go further in the search of the geographic origin and physical traits of these south Siberian specimens, we also typed phenotype-informative single nucleotide polymorphisms. Our autosomal, Y-chromosomal and mitochondrial DNA analyses reveal that whereas few specimens seem to be related matrilineally or patrilineally, nearly all subjects belong to haplogroup R1a1-M17 which is thought to mark the eastward migration of the early Indo-Europeans. Our results also confirm that at the Bronze and Iron Ages, south Siberia was a region of overwhelmingly predominant European settlement, suggesting an eastward migration of Kurgan people across the Russo-Kazakh steppe. Finally, our data indicate that at the Bronze and Iron Age timeframe, south Siberians were blue (or green)-eyed, fair-skinned and light-haired people and that they might have played a role in the early development of the Tarim Basin civilization. To the best of our knowledge, no equivalent molecular analysis has been undertaken so far.
Introduction
Kurgans (Russian word for tumuli) are barrows characteristic of a
culture arising on the steppes of southern Russia
about 5000 BC and later spreading into eastern, central and
northern Europe between 4400 and 2800 BC. The Kurgan
culture is divided into different sub-cultures on the basis of
the different kinds of graves under the barrows: pit-graves
(Yamna), catacomb-graves (Katakomnaya) and timbergraves (Srubna).
The westwards diffusion of this culture is
sometimes equated with the appearance in eastern Europe
of the Corded Ware culture and the introduction of Indo European-speaking
peoples (Gimbutas 1970).
In an attempt to reconstruct some of the population
movements of ancient Kurgan people from the Eurasian
steppes, the genetic background of 32 ancient human specimens
from the Krasnoyarsk area in southern central Siberia
(along the Yenisey River; Fig. 1) was characterized at the
nuclear and mitochondrial DNA levels. Among these specimens,
10 were attributed to the Andronovo culture, 4 to the
Karasuk culture, 12 to the Tagar culture and 6 to the
Tachtyk one (Table 1). The Andronovo culture, related to
the timber-grave group, appeared throughout the south Russian
steppe, Kazakhstan and western central Asia during the
second millenium BC. (Koryakova and Epimakhov 2007).
The bearers of this Middle Bronze Age culture were
strongly associated with the Indo-Iranians and credited with
the invention of the spoke-wheeled chariot (LambergKarlovsky 2002).
The Karasuk culture is a Late Bronze
Age culture that succeeded the Andronovo culture in southern
Siberia (late second millenium BC.). Karasuk people were
farmers who practiced metallurgy on a large scale. They
produced a realistic animal art, which probably contributed
to the development of the later Scytho-Siberian animal art
style. The Karasuk culture was replaced by the early Iron
Age Tagar culture (first millenium BC.) which flourished in
Khakassia (southern part of the Krasnoyarsk Krai) producing an
art of animal motifs related to that of the Scythians
of southern European Russia. On the Yenisey River, the
Tagar culture was replaced by the Tashtyk culture, dating
from the first to fourth century AD.
To investigate the history and origin of these ancient
Krasnoyarsk specimens, two uniparentally inherited marker
systems were analyzed. Indeed, apart from giving information about
paternal and maternal lineages, both the nonrecombining portion of the
Y-chromosome (NRY) and the
mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have proven to be good indicators of
migration events in human population history
(Underhill and Kivisild 2007). Autosomal short tandem
repeats (STRs) were also typed to coffin conventional
sexing and to assess possible parentage relationships and/or
exogenous contamination. Finally, since the specimens
under study are thought to have been “Caucasoid” (Kozintsev
et al. 1999; Lebedynsky 2003; Moiseyev 2006), phenotype informative
single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were
also tested.
To widen the geographic scale of our study, we determined the Y-chromosomal
haplogroup of several Xiongnu
specimens dated from the third century BC. to the second
century AD. Xiongnu were nomadic tribes inhabiting the
steppes north of China and controlling an empire stretching
beyond the borders of modern-day Mongolia. We also performed Y-SNP
typing of one Scytho-Siberian specimen
from the Sebÿstei site in the Altaï Republic (Central Asia)
dated from the middle of the Wfth century BC. All these
specimens were previously typed for autosomal and
mtDNA polymorphisms (Keyser-Tracqui et al. 2003;
Ricaut et al. 2004).
Christine Keyser 1, Caroline Bouakaze, Eric Crubézy, Valery G Nikolaev, Daniel Montagnon, Tatiana Reis, Bertrand Ludes
Abstract
To help unravel some of the early Eurasian steppe migration movements, we determined the Y-chromosomal and mitochondrial haplotypes and haplogroups of 26 ancient human specimens from the Krasnoyarsk area dated from between the middle of the second millennium BC. to the fourth century AD. In order to go further in the search of the geographic origin and physical traits of these south Siberian specimens, we also typed phenotype-informative single nucleotide polymorphisms. Our autosomal, Y-chromosomal and mitochondrial DNA analyses reveal that whereas few specimens seem to be related matrilineally or patrilineally, nearly all subjects belong to haplogroup R1a1-M17 which is thought to mark the eastward migration of the early Indo-Europeans. Our results also confirm that at the Bronze and Iron Ages, south Siberia was a region of overwhelmingly predominant European settlement, suggesting an eastward migration of Kurgan people across the Russo-Kazakh steppe. Finally, our data indicate that at the Bronze and Iron Age timeframe, south Siberians were blue (or green)-eyed, fair-skinned and light-haired people and that they might have played a role in the early development of the Tarim Basin civilization. To the best of our knowledge, no equivalent molecular analysis has been undertaken so far.
Introduction
Kurgans (Russian word for tumuli) are barrows characteristic of a
culture arising on the steppes of southern Russia
about 5000 BC and later spreading into eastern, central and
northern Europe between 4400 and 2800 BC. The Kurgan
culture is divided into different sub-cultures on the basis of
the different kinds of graves under the barrows: pit-graves
(Yamna), catacomb-graves (Katakomnaya) and timbergraves (Srubna).
The westwards diffusion of this culture is
sometimes equated with the appearance in eastern Europe
of the Corded Ware culture and the introduction of Indo European-speaking
peoples (Gimbutas 1970).
In an attempt to reconstruct some of the population
movements of ancient Kurgan people from the Eurasian
steppes, the genetic background of 32 ancient human specimens
from the Krasnoyarsk area in southern central Siberia
(along the Yenisey River; Fig. 1) was characterized at the
nuclear and mitochondrial DNA levels. Among these specimens,
10 were attributed to the Andronovo culture, 4 to the
Karasuk culture, 12 to the Tagar culture and 6 to the
Tachtyk one (Table 1). The Andronovo culture, related to
the timber-grave group, appeared throughout the south Russian
steppe, Kazakhstan and western central Asia during the
second millenium BC. (Koryakova and Epimakhov 2007).
The bearers of this Middle Bronze Age culture were
strongly associated with the Indo-Iranians and credited with
the invention of the spoke-wheeled chariot (LambergKarlovsky 2002).
The Karasuk culture is a Late Bronze
Age culture that succeeded the Andronovo culture in southern
Siberia (late second millenium BC.). Karasuk people were
farmers who practiced metallurgy on a large scale. They
produced a realistic animal art, which probably contributed
to the development of the later Scytho-Siberian animal art
style. The Karasuk culture was replaced by the early Iron
Age Tagar culture (first millenium BC.) which flourished in
Khakassia (southern part of the Krasnoyarsk Krai) producing an
art of animal motifs related to that of the Scythians
of southern European Russia. On the Yenisey River, the
Tagar culture was replaced by the Tashtyk culture, dating
from the first to fourth century AD.
To investigate the history and origin of these ancient
Krasnoyarsk specimens, two uniparentally inherited marker
systems were analyzed. Indeed, apart from giving information about
paternal and maternal lineages, both the nonrecombining portion of the
Y-chromosome (NRY) and the
mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have proven to be good indicators of
migration events in human population history
(Underhill and Kivisild 2007). Autosomal short tandem
repeats (STRs) were also typed to coffin conventional
sexing and to assess possible parentage relationships and/or
exogenous contamination. Finally, since the specimens
under study are thought to have been “Caucasoid” (Kozintsev
et al. 1999; Lebedynsky 2003; Moiseyev 2006), phenotype informative
single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were
also tested.
To widen the geographic scale of our study, we determined the Y-chromosomal
haplogroup of several Xiongnu
specimens dated from the third century BC. to the second
century AD. Xiongnu were nomadic tribes inhabiting the
steppes north of China and controlling an empire stretching
beyond the borders of modern-day Mongolia. We also performed Y-SNP
typing of one Scytho-Siberian specimen
from the Sebÿstei site in the Altaï Republic (Central Asia)
dated from the middle of the Wfth century BC. All these
specimens were previously typed for autosomal and
mtDNA polymorphisms (Keyser-Tracqui et al. 2003;
Ricaut et al. 2004).
