Lancer
08-31-2020, 05:21 PM
Scythians were nomadic and semi-nomadic people that ruled the Eurasian steppe during much of
the first millennium BCE. While having been extensively studied by archaeology, very little is known
about their genetic identity. To fill this gap, we analyzed ancient mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from
Scythians of the North Pontic Region (NPR) and successfully retrieved 19 whole mtDNA genomes. We
have identified three potential mtDNA lineage ancestries of the NPR Scythians tracing back to huntergatherer and nomadic populations of east and west Eurasia as well as the Neolithic farming expansion
into Europe. One third of all mt lineages in our dataset belonged to subdivisions of mt haplogroup U5.
A comparison of NPR Scythian mtDNA linages with other contemporaneous Scythian groups, the Saka
and the Pazyryks, reveals a common mtDNA package comprised of haplogroups H/H5, U5a, A, D/D4,
and F1/F2. Of these, west Eurasian lineages show a downward cline in the west-east direction while
east Eurasian haplogroups display the opposite trajectory. An overall similarity in mtDNA lineages of
the NPR Scythians was found with the late Bronze Age Srubnaya population of the Northern Black Sea
region which supports the archaeological hypothesis suggesting Srubnaya people as ancestors of the
NPR Scythians.
The Eurasian Steppe is a vast grassland region ....
the first millennium BCE. While having been extensively studied by archaeology, very little is known
about their genetic identity. To fill this gap, we analyzed ancient mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from
Scythians of the North Pontic Region (NPR) and successfully retrieved 19 whole mtDNA genomes. We
have identified three potential mtDNA lineage ancestries of the NPR Scythians tracing back to huntergatherer and nomadic populations of east and west Eurasia as well as the Neolithic farming expansion
into Europe. One third of all mt lineages in our dataset belonged to subdivisions of mt haplogroup U5.
A comparison of NPR Scythian mtDNA linages with other contemporaneous Scythian groups, the Saka
and the Pazyryks, reveals a common mtDNA package comprised of haplogroups H/H5, U5a, A, D/D4,
and F1/F2. Of these, west Eurasian lineages show a downward cline in the west-east direction while
east Eurasian haplogroups display the opposite trajectory. An overall similarity in mtDNA lineages of
the NPR Scythians was found with the late Bronze Age Srubnaya population of the Northern Black Sea
region which supports the archaeological hypothesis suggesting Srubnaya people as ancestors of the
NPR Scythians.
The Eurasian Steppe is a vast grassland region ....