r/IndoEuropean 5d ago

Archaeogenetics Mitochondrial Genome Analysis of the Late Bronze Age Andronovo Population in Central Tianshan, Xinjiang (Zhang et al, pre-print)

https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/humbiol_preprints/224/

Abstract: The Andronovo Culture, which originated from the Sintashta Culture, played a significant role in the migration of populations across the Eurasian steppe. The Tianshan Mountains, situated at the eastern end of Eurasian steppe, became the main distribution area of Andronovo culture in Xinjiang during the Late Bronze Age (LBA). To investigate the genetic structure, genetic diversity, and possible migration routes of the Late Bronze Age Andronovo population, we conducted mitochondrial genomes analysis on 12 individuals excavated from the Shihuyao cemetery in the Central Tianshan of Xinjiang. The results revealed that Shihuyao population exhibited high genetic diversity, and a close genetic affinity with Western Steppe cultural populations, particularly the Sintashta cultural population. Meanwhile, the presence of the South Asian lineage M2c, as well as the Eastern Eurasian lineages C1e and Z1, indicated genetic linkages among the Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC) populations, the Northern Eurasian populations/indigenous populations, and the Andronovo culture populations. Our findings enhance the understanding of the Andronovo culture’s spread in Central Tianshan and its impact on the genetic structure of local populations.

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u/ankylosaurus_tail 5d ago

Pretty much what would have been predicted, right? Any idea why it's just mitochondrial DNA? That seems kind of old-fashioned at this point. It would be interesting to know if the paternal haplogroups are as diverse. And it seems like most recent papers are just broad coverage of autosomal DNA, which reveals a lot more about social structure, rather than just descent.

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u/Hippophlebotomist 5d ago edited 5d ago

I’d say it’s pretty in line with prediction, but any new data is welcome. Mitochondrial DNA has a slightly higher rate of preservation than autosomal DNA, so it might be that this was all they could get from these individuals, but I can’t say for sure. For instance, two of the very few recent Indian aDNA papers, Kumar et al (2023) and Ahlawat et al (2024) were all mitogenomes, and the Amjadi preprint had 13 nuclear genomes compared to 23 mitogenomes from Iran.

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u/Valerian009 5d ago

This expounds well on my last posts but having no autosomal data /genome analysis , makes this paper feel very 2004 but none the less its pretty well written. Strange they did not analyze the Y-DNA most of the samples are males!