To the question of origin of Indo-Iranians and Tocharians in light of the newest genetic data

Abstract

The subject of this research is the ethnogenesis of Indo-Iranian and Tocharian groups of Indo-European language family. The author analyzes the data on genetic composition of the population of Gandhara grave culture, which is an undisputable archeological evidence of expansion of Indo-Iranians into the Indus Valley, i.e. the place of dwelling of the speakers of Indo-Iranian languages that will be subsequently recorded in the written sources. The results of analysis are compared to the data acquired on the ancient population of the Tarim Basin in Eastern Turkestan, which supposedly is proto-Tocharian. The comparison of mitochondrial DNA detected the only admissible localization of population, which is ancestral for both linguistic groups, as well as outlined the logical chain of migration of Indo-Europeans. The novelty of this research consists in application of the comparative-genetic method for detecting the localization of origin of a particular human population (in this article – Indo-Iranians and Tocharians). The following conclusions were made: additional arguments in confirmation of the genesis of Indo-Iranians and Tocharians from the area of Danubian culture of the Neolithic (linear pottery – Linearbandkeramik, Lengyel, Alföld), as well as well reasons in support the migration model of Indo-Iranians and Tocharians from the area of agricultural cultures of Europe through Eurasian steppes, which can serve as the new foundation for hypotheses on the formation of steppe culture (like grave culture) by the people of European descent.