Maternal genetic features of the Iron Age Tagar population from Southern Siberia (1st millennium BC)

Early nomads in the Eurasian steppes since the beginning of the 1st millennium BC played a key role in the formation of the cultural and genetic landscape of populations of a significant part of Eurasia, from Eastern Europe to Eastern Central Asia. Numerous archaeological cultures associated with early nomads have been discovered throughout the Eurasian steppe belt. The Tagar archaeological culture existed in the Minusinsk basin (Sayan Mountains, Southern Siberia, Russia) in the northeastern periphery of the Eurasian steppe belt from the 8th to 1st century BC during the pre-Scythian, Scythian, and Early Xiongnu-Sarmatian periods. In this study, we evaluated mtDNA diversity in the Tagar population based on representative series (N = 79) belonging to all chronological stages of the culture. The Tagar population had a mixed mtDNA pool dominated by Western Eurasian haplogroups and subgroups (H, HV6, HV*, I, K, T, U2e, U4, U5a, and U*) and, to a lesser degree, Eastern Eurasian haplogroups (A*, A8, C*, C5, D, G2a, and F1b). The Tagar population showed a similar mtDNA pool structure to those of other Iron Age populations representing the “Scythian World.” We observed particularly high similarity between the Tagar and Classic Scythians from the North Pontic region. Our results support the assumption that genetic components introduced by Bronze Age migrants from Western Eurasia contributed to the formation of the genetic composition of Scythian period populations in Southern Siberia. Another important component of the Tagar mtDNA pool was autochthonous East Eurasian lineages, some of which (A8 and C4a2a) are potential markers of the westward genetic influence of the eastern populations of the Scythian period. Our results suggest a genetic continuity (at least partial) between the Early, Middle, and Late Tagar populations.

公元前一千纪伊始，欧亚草原的早期游牧民族对从东欧至中亚东部广大区域的人群文化与遗传谱系的塑造起到了关键作用。整个欧亚草原带均已发现大量与早期游牧民族相关的考古学文化。塔加尔考古学文化（Tagar archaeological culture）分布于欧亚草原带东北边缘的米努辛斯克盆地（俄罗斯西伯利亚南部萨彦岭地区），存续时间为公元前8世纪至公元前1世纪，涵盖前斯基泰期、斯基泰期与早期匈奴-萨尔马提亚期。本研究基于覆盖该文化所有编年阶段的代表性样本（N = 79），对塔加尔人群的线粒体DNA（mtDNA）多样性进行了分析。塔加尔人群拥有混合的线粒体DNA基因库，其主体为欧亚西部单倍群及其亚支（H、HV6、HV*、I、K、T、U2e、U4、U5a及U*），欧亚东部单倍群（A*、A8、C*、C5、D、G2a及F1b）占比相对较低。塔加尔人群的线粒体DNA基因库结构与代表“斯基泰世界”的其他铁器时代人群高度相似。我们发现塔加尔人群与北庞蒂克地区的古典斯基泰人群之间的遗传相似度尤为突出。本研究结果支持如下假说：来自欧亚西部的青铜时代移民所携带的遗传组分，参与塑造了南西伯利亚斯基泰期人群的遗传构成。塔加尔人群线粒体DNA基因库的另一重要组分源自本土欧亚东部世系，其中部分世系（A8与C4a2a）或可作为斯基泰期东部人群向西产生遗传影响的标记。本研究结果表明，塔加尔早期、中期与晚期人群之间存在（至少部分的）遗传连续性。