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Ancestry and demography and descendants of Iron Age nomads of the Eurasian Steppe

Unterländer, Martina, Palstra, Friso, Lazaridis, Iosif, Pilipenko, Aleksandr, Hofmanová, Zuzana, Groß, Melanie, Sell, Christian, Blöcher, Jens, Kirsanow, Karola, Rohland, Nadin, Rieger, Benjamin, Kaiser, Elke, Schier, Wolfram, Pozdniakov, Dimitri, Khokhlov, Aleksandr, Georges, Myriam, Wilde, Sandra, Powell, Adam, Heyer, Evelyne, Currat, Mathias, Reich, David, Samashev, Zainolla, Parzinger, Hermann, Molodin, Vyacheslav I., Burger, Joachim·2017·Nature Communications
DOI 10.1038/ncomms14615PMC PMC5337992
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Abstract

During the 1 st millennium before the Common Era (BCE), nomadic tribes associated with the Iron Age Scythian culture spread over the Eurasian Steppe, covering a territory of more than 3,500 km in breadth. To understand the demographic processes behind the spread of the Scythian culture, we analysed genomic data from eight individuals and a mitochondrial dataset of 96 individuals originating in eastern and western parts of the Eurasian Steppe. Genomic inference reveals that Scythians in the east and the west of the steppe zone can best be described as a mixture of Yamnaya-related ancestry and an East Asian component. Demographic modelling suggests independent origins for eastern and western groups with ongoing gene-flow between them, plausibly explaining the striking uniformity of their material culture. We also find evidence that significant gene-flow from east to west Eurasia must have occurred early during the Iron Age.

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Figures

Figure 1 Reconstruction of a Scythian. Found in the kurgan Olon-Kurin-Gol 10, Altai Mountains, Mongolia (reconstruction by Dimitri Pozdniakov).
Figure 1 Reconstruction of a Scythian. Found in the kurgan Olon-Kurin-Gol 10, Altai Mountains, Mongolia (reconstruction by Dimitri Pozdniakov).CC BY · PubMed Central
Figure 2 Distribution of the sample sites analysed for this study (yellow) including data from the literature (green). Numbers refer to the defined groups (#): WEST: #1 initial Scythian period eighth to sixth century BCE (n=4); #2 classic Scythian phase sixth to second century BCE (n=19); #3 Early Sarmatians fifth to second century BCE (n=11); EAST: #4 Zevakino-Chilikta phase ninth to seventh century BCE (n=11); #5 Aldy Bel culture seventh to sixth century BCE (n=15); #6 Pazyryk culture fourth to third century BCE (n=71); #7 Tagar/Tes culture eighth century BCE—first century CE (n=16); arrows with a G indicate samples for which genomic data was obtained, black for capture data and grey for shotgun data. Source of the map: cartomedia-Karlsruhe.
Figure 2 Distribution of the sample sites analysed for this study (yellow) including data from the literature (green). Numbers refer to the defined groups (#): WEST: #1 initial Scythian period eighth to sixth century BCE (n=4); #2 classic Scythian phase sixth to second century BCE (n=19); #3 Early Sarmatians fifth to second century BCE (n=11); EAST: #4 Zevakino-Chilikta phase ninth to seventh century BCE (n=11); #5 Aldy Bel culture seventh to sixth century BCE (n=15); #6 Pazyryk culture fourth to third century BCE (n=71); #7 Tagar/Tes culture eighth century BCE—first century CE (n=16); arrows with a G indicate samples for which genomic data was obtained, black for capture data and grey for shotgun data. Source of the map: cartomedia-Karlsruhe.CC BY · PubMed Central
Figure 3 Candidate scenarios for the origin of Scythian populations. W-Eu=West Eurasians; WS=western Scythian groups; ES=eastern Scythian groups; N-Han=Han Chinese. Numbers on the left refer to generations before present.
Figure 3 Candidate scenarios for the origin of Scythian populations. W-Eu=West Eurasians; WS=western Scythian groups; ES=eastern Scythian groups; N-Han=Han Chinese. Numbers on the left refer to generations before present.CC BY · PubMed Central
Figure 4 Principal component analysis. PCA of ancient individuals (according colours see legend) projected on modern West Eurasians (grey). Iron Age Scythians are shown in black; CHG, Caucasus hunter-gatherer; LNBA, late Neolithic/Bronze Age; MN, middle Neolithic; EHG, eastern European hunter-gatherer; LBK_EN, early Neolithic Linearbandkeramik; HG, hunter-gatherer; EBA, early Bronze Age; IA, Iron Age; LBA, late Bronze Age; WHG, western hunter-gatherer.
Figure 4 Principal component analysis. PCA of ancient individuals (according colours see legend) projected on modern West Eurasians (grey). Iron Age Scythians are shown in black; CHG, Caucasus hunter-gatherer; LNBA, late Neolithic/Bronze Age; MN, middle Neolithic; EHG, eastern European hunter-gatherer; LBK_EN, early Neolithic Linearbandkeramik; HG, hunter-gatherer; EBA, early Bronze Age; IA, Iron Age; LBA, late Bronze Age; WHG, western hunter-gatherer.CC BY · PubMed Central
Figure 5 Principal component analysis. PCA of ancient individuals (according colours see legend) projected on modern individuals of the Human Origins dataset (grey). Iron Age Scythians are shown in black; CHG, Caucasus hunter-gatherer; LNBA, late Neolithic/Bronze Age; MN, middle Neolithic; EHG, eastern European hunter-gatherer; LBK_EN, early Neolithic Linearbandkeramik; HG, hunter-gatherer; EBA, early Bronze Age; IA, Iron Age; LBA, late Bronze Age; WHG, western hunter-gatherer.
Figure 5 Principal component analysis. PCA of ancient individuals (according colours see legend) projected on modern individuals of the Human Origins dataset (grey). Iron Age Scythians are shown in black; CHG, Caucasus hunter-gatherer; LNBA, late Neolithic/Bronze Age; MN, middle Neolithic; EHG, eastern European hunter-gatherer; LBK_EN, early Neolithic Linearbandkeramik; HG, hunter-gatherer; EBA, early Bronze Age; IA, Iron Age; LBA, late Bronze Age; WHG, western hunter-gatherer.CC BY · PubMed Central
Figure 6 Visualization of f-statistics results. f4(Test, LBK; Han, Mbuti) values are plotted on x axis and f4(Test, LBK; EHG, Mbuti) values on y axis, positive deviations from zero show deviations from a clade between Test and LBK. A red dashed line is drawn between Yamnaya from Samara and Ami. Iron Age populations that can be modelled as mixtures of Yamnaya and East Eurasians (like the Ami) are arrayed around this line and appear to be distinct from the main North/South European cline (blue) on the left of the x axis.
Figure 6 Visualization of f-statistics results. f4(Test, LBK; Han, Mbuti) values are plotted on x axis and f4(Test, LBK; EHG, Mbuti) values on y axis, positive deviations from zero show deviations from a clade between Test and LBK. A red dashed line is drawn between Yamnaya from Samara and Ami. Iron Age populations that can be modelled as mixtures of Yamnaya and East Eurasians (like the Ami) are arrayed around this line and appear to be distinct from the main North/South European cline (blue) on the left of the x axis.CC BY · PubMed Central
Figure 7 ADMIXTURE results for ancient populations. Red arrows point to the Iron Age Scythian individuals studied. LBK_EN: Early Neolithic Linearbandkeramik; EHG: Eastern European hunter-gatherer; Motala_HG: hunter-gatherer from Motala (Sweden); WHG: western hunter-gatherer; CHG: Caucasus hunter-gatherer; IA: Iron Age; EBA: Early Bronze Age; LBA: Late Bronze Age.
Figure 7 ADMIXTURE results for ancient populations. Red arrows point to the Iron Age Scythian individuals studied. LBK_EN: Early Neolithic Linearbandkeramik; EHG: Eastern European hunter-gatherer; Motala_HG: hunter-gatherer from Motala (Sweden); WHG: western hunter-gatherer; CHG: Caucasus hunter-gatherer; IA: Iron Age; EBA: Early Bronze Age; LBA: Late Bronze Age.CC BY · PubMed Central

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Metadata

Authors
Unterländer, M., Palstra, F., Lazaridis, I., Pilipenko, A., Hofmanová, Z., Groß, M., Sell, C., Blöcher, J., Kirsanow, K., Rohland, N., Rieger, B., Kaiser, E., Schier, W., Pozdniakov, D., Khokhlov, A., Georges, M., Wilde, S., Powell, A., Heyer, E., Currat, M., Reich, D., Samashev, Z., Parzinger, H., Molodin, V. I., & Burger, J.
Venue
Nature Communications
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2017-03-03
Volume
8
Issue
1
ISSN
2041-1723
DOI
10.1038/ncomms14615
PMC
PMC5337992
Cited by
142
References
16
Language
en
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Unterländer, M., Palstra, F., Lazaridis, I., Pilipenko, A., Hofmanová, Z., Groß, M., Sell, C., Blöcher, J., Kirsanow, K., Rohland, N., Rieger, B., Kaiser, E., Schier, W., Pozdniakov, D., Khokhlov, A., Georges, M., Wilde, S., Powell, A., Heyer, E., . . . Burger, J. (2017). Ancestry and demography and descendants of Iron Age nomads of the Eurasian Steppe. Nature Communications. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms14615