A GENETIC ANALYSIS OF HUMAN REMAINS FROM AK-ALAKHA-3 BURIAL MOUND 1, GORNY ALTAI

Abstract

A genetic analysis of human remains from burial 1 in mound 1 at Ak-Alakha-3, Gorny Altai, focused on mitochondrial DNA, sex markers, and autosomal hypervariable STR markers. Variants of mtDNA extracted from the remains of an adult individual and a child fall into Eastern Eurasian haplogroups A4 and C, respectively, which are common in modern and prehistoric populations of Gorny Altai and the adjacent regions of southern Siberia and Central Asia. These variants must be considered autochthonous in the gene pool of the Early Iron Age Altai, and were shared by otherwise dissimilar populations of that region in the Scythian Age. The adult individual was shown to be male, and the child was a girl. The results corroborate the efficiency of aDNA testing using the well preserved cancellous bone samples.