Abstract
A recent discovery of Iron Age burials (Pazyryk culture) in the Altai Mountains of Mongolia may shed light on the mode and tempo of the generation of the current genetic east-west population admixture in Central Asia. Studies on ancient mitochondrial DNA of this region suggest that the Altai Mountains played the role of a geographical barrier between West and East Eurasian lineages until the beginning of the Iron Age. After the 7th century BC, coinciding with Scythian expansion across the Eurasian steppes, a gradual influx of East Eurasian sequences in Western steppes is detected. However, the underlying events behind the genetic admixture in Altai during the Iron Age are still unresolved: 1) whether it was a result of migratory events (eastward firstly, westward secondly), or 2) whether it was a result of a local demographic expansion in a ‘contact zone’ between European and East Asian people. In the present work, we analyzed the mitochondrial DNA lineages in human remains from Bronze and Iron Age burials of Mongolian Altai. Here we present support to the hypothesis that the gene pool of Iron Age inhabitants of Mongolian Altai was similar to that of western Iron Age Altaians (Russia and Kazakhstan). Thus, this people not only shared the same culture (Pazyryk), but also shared the same genetic east-west population admixture. In turn, Pazyryks appear to have a similar gene pool that current Altaians. Our results further show that Iron Age Altaians displayed mitochondrial lineages already present around Altai region before the Iron Age. This would provide support for a demographic expansion of local people of Altai instead of westward or eastward migratory events, as the demographic event behind the high population genetic admixture and diversity in Central Asia.
Highlights
Central Asia has been a crossroad between West and East Eurasian people leading to the current high population genetic admixture and diversity
Because the Altai Mountains represent a natural boundary between West and East Eurasian steppes, this region is key to understanding demographic events in the steppes of Central Asia
Two hypotheses have been put forward to explain this evidence: 1) Central Asians could represent an early incubator of Eurasian variation, or 2) their current genetic diversity could result from later admixture between West and East Eurasian populations
Summary
Central Asia has been a crossroad between West and East Eurasian people leading to the current high population genetic admixture and diversity The origin of this diversity may go back as early as the Iron Age, more than two thousand years ago, with the dispersal of mounted pastoral nomads across the Eurasian steppes [1,2,3]. Archaeological work conducted by a Spanish–French–Mongolian team in the Mongolian Altai during the period 2005–2007 discovered burial sites belonging to the Pazyryk culture This was the first time that this culture was found in Mongolia [4,5] Pazyryk is the name given to Iron Age nomadic tribes who inhabited the high steppes of the Altai Mountains between the fifth and third centuries BC. Two different expeditions [5,11] discovered Pazyryk burials in the Mongolian Altai, indicating that this Iron Age people had spread into East Asia (Fig. 1)
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