Genetic origins of the Turkish people
Encyclopedia
In population genetics
the question has been debated whether the modern Turkish population is significantly related to other Turkic peoples
, or whether they are rather derived from indigenous populations of Anatolia
which were culturally assimilated
during the Middle Ages. The discussion of the question in population genetics has historically been marred by Turkish nationalism
which postulates a Pan-Turkic identity emphasizing Central Asian roots.
Contrary to nationalist dogma, studies of population genetics have indicated that the modern Anatolian Turks are prevalently descended from indigenous (pre-Islamic) Anatolian populations.
and Azeri populations are atypical among Altaic speakers in having low frequencies of Asiatic
haplotype
s. Rather, these two Turkic-speaking groups seem to be closer to populations from the Middle East
, Caucasus
and the Balkans
. This finding is consistent with a model in which the Turkic languages
, originating in the Altai-Sayan
region of Central Asia
and northwestern Mongolia
, were imposed on the indigenous peoples without significant genetic admixture, possible example of elite
cultural dominance
- driven linguistic
replacement.
A 2010 publication by Prof. Inci Togan and co-workers based on mitochondrial and Y-chromosome DNA estimated a 13% Central Asian genetic contribution to Anatolia compared to the Balkans. A 2011 study reveals the impossibility of long-term, and continuing genetic contacts between Anatolia and Siberia, and confirms the presence of significant mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosome divergence between this regions, with minimal admixture. The research confirms also the lack of mass migration with correlative archeological, historical, and linguistic data, and suggests that it was irregular punctuated migration events that engendered large-scale shifts in language and culture among Anatolia's diverse autochthonous inhabitants.
The question to what extent a gene flow from Central Asia
to Anatolia
has contributed to the current gene pool of the Turkish people, and what the role is in this of the 11th century invasion by Oghuz Turks
, has been the subject of several studies. A factor that makes it difficult to give reliable estimates, is the problem of distinguishing between the effects of different migratory episodes. Recent genetics researches indicates that the Turkic peoples
originated from Central Asia and therefore are possibly related with Xiongnu
. A majority (89%) of the Xiongnu sequences can be classified as belonging to an Asian
haplogroups and nearly 11% belong to European
haplogroups. This finding indicates that the contacts between European and Asian populations were anterior to the Xiongnu culture, and it confirms results reported for two samples from an early 3rd century B.C. Scytho-Siberian population. According to the study, Turkish Anatolian tribes may have some ancestors who originated in an area north of Mongolia at the end of the Xiongnu period (3rd century BCE to the 2nd century CE), since modern Anatolian Turks appear to have some common genetic markers with the remains found at the Xiongnu period graves in Mongolia. Moreover, the mtDNA (female linkeage) sequence shared by four of these paternal relatives were also found in a Turkish individuals, suggesting a possible Turkic origin of these ancient specimens.
(without R1b, K, and which notably occur elsewhere, it is 59.3%) and contrast with a smaller share of haplogroups related to Central Asia (N and Q)- 5.7% (but it rises to 36% if K, R1a, R1b and L- which infrequently occur in Central Asia, but are notable in many other Western Turkic groups), India H, R2 - 1.5% and Africa A, E3*, E3a - 1%. Some of the percentages identified were:
.png)
1) At an Afshar
village whose oral stories tell they come from Central Asia they found that 57% come from haplogroup L, 13% from haplogroup Q, 3% from haplogroup N thus indicating that the L haplogroups in Turkey are of Central Asian heritage rather than Indian, although these Central Asians would have gotten the L markers from the Indians from the beginning. These Asian groups add up to 73% in this village. Furthermore 10% of these Afshars were E3a and E3b. Only 13% were J2a, the most common haplogroup in Turkey.
2) An older Turkish village center that did not receive much migration was about 25% N and 25% J2a with 3% G and close to 30% of some sort of R1 but mostly R1b.
Population genetics
Population genetics is the study of allele frequency distribution and change under the influence of the four main evolutionary processes: natural selection, genetic drift, mutation and gene flow. It also takes into account the factors of recombination, population subdivision and population...
the question has been debated whether the modern Turkish population is significantly related to other Turkic peoples
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
, or whether they are rather derived from indigenous populations of Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
which were culturally assimilated
Turkification
Turkification is a term used to describe a process of cultural or political change in which something or someone who is not a Turk becomes one, voluntarily or involuntarily...
during the Middle Ages. The discussion of the question in population genetics has historically been marred by Turkish nationalism
Turkish nationalism
Turkish nationalism is a political ideology that promotes and glorifies the Turkish people, as either a national, ethnic or linguistic group and puts the interests of the state over other influences, including religious ones.-Pan-Turkism:...
which postulates a Pan-Turkic identity emphasizing Central Asian roots.
Contrary to nationalist dogma, studies of population genetics have indicated that the modern Anatolian Turks are prevalently descended from indigenous (pre-Islamic) Anatolian populations.
Testing the "Elite dominance language replacement" hypothesis
TurkishTurkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
and Azeri populations are atypical among Altaic speakers in having low frequencies of Asiatic
Asian people
Asian people or Asiatic people is a term with multiple meanings that refers to people who descend from a portion of Asia's population.- Central Asia :...
haplotype
Haplotype
A haplotype in genetics is a combination of alleles at adjacent locations on the chromosome that are transmitted together...
s. Rather, these two Turkic-speaking groups seem to be closer to populations from the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
and the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
. This finding is consistent with a model in which the Turkic languages
Turkic languages
The Turkic languages constitute a language family of at least thirty five languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.Turkic languages are spoken...
, originating in the Altai-Sayan
Sayan
Sayan may refer to:* Sayan Mountains, a mountain range in Siberia, Asia* Sayan, India* Sayan, Bali, a village in Bali* Sayán District, Peru* Sayán, city in Peru* Sayana, 14th century Indian commentator on the Vedas...
region of Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
and northwestern Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
, were imposed on the indigenous peoples without significant genetic admixture, possible example of elite
Elite
Elite refers to an exceptional or privileged group that wields considerable power within its sphere of influence...
cultural dominance
Dominance
Dominance may refer to:* Dominance , an aspect of virtual inheritance in the C++ programming language* Dominance , in economics, the degree of inequality in market share distribution...
- driven linguistic
Natural language
In the philosophy of language, a natural language is any language which arises in an unpremeditated fashion as the result of the innate facility for language possessed by the human intellect. A natural language is typically used for communication, and may be spoken, signed, or written...
replacement.
A 2010 publication by Prof. Inci Togan and co-workers based on mitochondrial and Y-chromosome DNA estimated a 13% Central Asian genetic contribution to Anatolia compared to the Balkans. A 2011 study reveals the impossibility of long-term, and continuing genetic contacts between Anatolia and Siberia, and confirms the presence of significant mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosome divergence between this regions, with minimal admixture. The research confirms also the lack of mass migration with correlative archeological, historical, and linguistic data, and suggests that it was irregular punctuated migration events that engendered large-scale shifts in language and culture among Anatolia's diverse autochthonous inhabitants.
The Central Asian and Uralic connection
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
to Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
has contributed to the current gene pool of the Turkish people, and what the role is in this of the 11th century invasion by Oghuz Turks
Oghuz Turks
The Turkomen also known as Oghuz Turks were a historical Turkic tribal confederation in Central Asia during the early medieval Turkic expansion....
, has been the subject of several studies. A factor that makes it difficult to give reliable estimates, is the problem of distinguishing between the effects of different migratory episodes. Recent genetics researches indicates that the Turkic peoples
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
originated from Central Asia and therefore are possibly related with Xiongnu
Xiongnu
The Xiongnu were ancient nomadic-based people that formed a state or confederation north of the agriculture-based empire of the Han Dynasty. Most of the information on the Xiongnu comes from Chinese sources...
. A majority (89%) of the Xiongnu sequences can be classified as belonging to an Asian
Asian people
Asian people or Asiatic people is a term with multiple meanings that refers to people who descend from a portion of Asia's population.- Central Asia :...
haplogroups and nearly 11% belong to European
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
haplogroups. This finding indicates that the contacts between European and Asian populations were anterior to the Xiongnu culture, and it confirms results reported for two samples from an early 3rd century B.C. Scytho-Siberian population. According to the study, Turkish Anatolian tribes may have some ancestors who originated in an area north of Mongolia at the end of the Xiongnu period (3rd century BCE to the 2nd century CE), since modern Anatolian Turks appear to have some common genetic markers with the remains found at the Xiongnu period graves in Mongolia. Moreover, the mtDNA (female linkeage) sequence shared by four of these paternal relatives were also found in a Turkish individuals, suggesting a possible Turkic origin of these ancient specimens.
Haplogroup distributions in Turks
According to Cinnioglu et al., (2004) there are many Y-DNA haplogroups present in Turkey. The majority haplogroups are primarily shared with European, Caucasian and Middle Eastern populations such as haplogroups E3b, G, J, I, R1a, R1b, K and T which form 78.5% from the Turkish Gene poolGene pool
In population genetics, a gene pool is the complete set of unique alleles in a species or population.- Description :A large gene pool indicates extensive genetic diversity, which is associated with robust populations that can survive bouts of intense selection...
(without R1b, K, and which notably occur elsewhere, it is 59.3%) and contrast with a smaller share of haplogroups related to Central Asia (N and Q)- 5.7% (but it rises to 36% if K, R1a, R1b and L- which infrequently occur in Central Asia, but are notable in many other Western Turkic groups), India H, R2 - 1.5% and Africa A, E3*, E3a - 1%. Some of the percentages identified were:
- J1Haplogroup J1 (Y-DNA)In human genetics, Y DNA haplogroup J1, also known as J-M267, is a sub-haplogroup of Y DNA haplogroup J, along with its sibling clade Y DNA haplogroup J2. Men with this type of Y DNA share a common paternal ancestry, which is demonstrated and defined by the presence of the SNP mutation referred to...
=9% - Typical amongst people from the Arabian Peninsula and Dagestan (ranging from 3% from Turks around KonyaKonyaKonya is a city in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. The metropolitan area in the entire Konya Province had a population of 1,036,027 as of 2010, making the city seventh most populous in Turkey.-Etymology:...
to 12% in Kurds). - J2Haplogroup J2 (Y-DNA)In human genetics, Haplogroup J2 is a Y-chromosome haplogroup which is a subdivision of haplogroup J. It is further divided into two complementary clades, J2a-M410 and J2b-M12.-Origins:...
=24% - J2 (M172) Typical of populations of the Near East, Southeast Europe, Southwest Asia and the Caucasus, with a moderate distribution through much of Central Asia, South Asia, and North Africa - R1aHaplogroup R1a (Y-DNA)Haplogroup R1a is the phylogenetic name of a major clade of Human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroups. In other words, it is a way of grouping a significant part of all modern men according to a shared male-line ancestor. It is common in many parts of Eurasia and is frequently discussed in human...
=6.9% - Typical of Central Asian, Caucasus, Eastern Europeans and Indo-Aryan people. - IHaplogroup I (Y-DNA)In human genetics, Haplogroup I is a Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup, a subgroup of haplogroup IJ, itself a derivative of Haplogroup IJK....
=5.3% - Typical of Central Europeans, Western Caucasian and Balkan populations. - R1bHaplogroup R1b (Y-DNA)The point of origin of R1b is thought to lie in Eurasia, most likely in Western Asia. T. Karafet et al. estimated the age of R1, the parent of R1b, as 18,500 years before present....
=14.7% -Typical of Western Europeans and Eurasian People - E1b1b1=10.7% - Typical of people from the Mediterranean
- GHaplogroup G (Y-DNA)In human genetics, Haplogroup G is a Y-chromosome haplogroup. It is a branch of Haplogroup F . Haplogroup G has an overall low frequency in most populations but is widely distributed within many ethnic groups of the Old World in Europe, northern and western Asia, northern Africa, the Middle East,...
=10.9% - Typical of people from the CaucasusCaucasusThe Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
and to a lesser extent the Middle East. - NHaplogroup N (Y-DNA)In human genetics, Haplogroup N is a Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup, defined by the presence of the marker M231. The b2/b3 deletion in the AZFc region of the human Y-chromosome is a characteristic of Haplogroup N haplotypes. This deletion, however, appears to have occurred independently on four...
=3.8% - Typical of Uralic, Siberian and Altaic populations. - THaplogroup T (Y-DNA)In human genetics, Haplogroup T is a human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup. From 2002 to 2008, it was known as Haplogroup K2. It should not be confused with the mitochondrial DNA haplogroup T, of the same name....
=2.5% - Typical of Mediterranean, Northeast African and South Asian populations - KHaplogroup K (Y-DNA)In human genetics, Haplogroup K is a Human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup. This haplogroup is a descendant of Haplogroup IJK. Its major descendant haplogroups are Haplogroup LT and Haplogroup K...
=4.5% - Typical of Asian populations and Caucasian populations. - LHaplogroup L (Y-DNA)In human genetics, Haplogroup L is a Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup.-Origins:Haplogroup L is associated with South Asia. It has also been found at low frequencies among populations of Central Asia, Southwest Asia, and Southern Europe along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea...
=4.2% - Typical of Indian Subcontinent and KhorasanGreater KhorasanGreater Khorasan or Ancient Khorasan is a historical region of Greater Iran mentioned in sources from Sassanid and Islamic eras which "frequently" had a denotation wider than current three provinces of Khorasan in Iran...
populations. - QHaplogroup Q (Y-DNA)In human genetics, Haplogroup Q is a Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup.-Origins:Haplogroup Q is one of the two branches of haplogroup P . Haplogroup Q is believed to have arisen in Central Asia approximately 15,000 to 20,000 years ago. It has had multiple origins proposed...
=1.9% - Typical of Northern Altaic populations.
Further Research on Turkish Y-DNA Groups
A study from Turkey by Gokcumen (2008) took into account oral histories and historical records. They went to four settlements in Central Anatolia and did not do a random selection from a group of university students like many other studies. Accordingly here are the results:1) At an Afshar
Afshar
Afshar is a district of Kabul, Afghanistan. Most of its population are of the Shia-Hazara ethnic group....
village whose oral stories tell they come from Central Asia they found that 57% come from haplogroup L, 13% from haplogroup Q, 3% from haplogroup N thus indicating that the L haplogroups in Turkey are of Central Asian heritage rather than Indian, although these Central Asians would have gotten the L markers from the Indians from the beginning. These Asian groups add up to 73% in this village. Furthermore 10% of these Afshars were E3a and E3b. Only 13% were J2a, the most common haplogroup in Turkey.
2) An older Turkish village center that did not receive much migration was about 25% N and 25% J2a with 3% G and close to 30% of some sort of R1 but mostly R1b.
See also
- Demographics of TurkeyDemographics of TurkeyThis article is about the demographic features of the population of Turkey, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population....
- Genetic genealogyGenetic genealogyGenetic genealogy is the application of genetics to traditional genealogy. Genetic genealogy involves the use of genealogical DNA testing to determine the level of genetic relationship between individuals.-History:...
- History of the Turkish people
- History of the Turkic peoplesHistory of the Turkic peoplesThe Turkic people are an ethnic group, in the sense of sharing a common Turkish culture, descent, and speaking the languages of the Turkish language family as a mother tongue. Within suzerain Turkish states, Turkish people are defined by citizenship , distinguished from people of Turkish ancestry...
- Timeline of Turks (500-1300)
- History of AnatoliaHistory of AnatoliaThe history of Anatolia encompasses the region known as Anatolia , known by the Latin name of Asia Minor, considered to be the westernmost extent of Western Asia...
- Turkish diasporaTurkish diasporaThe Turkish diaspora refers to "Turks" who have emigrated from their homeland. Thus, the term may refer to citizens of Turkey living abroad or ethnic Turks from traditional areas of Turkish settlement who are living abroad.Due to the...
- Archaeogenetics of the Near EastArchaeogenetics of the Near EastThe archaeogenetics of the Near East involves the study of aDNA or ancient DNA, identifying haplogroups and haplotypes of ancient skeletal remains from both YDNA and mtDNA for populations of the Ancient Near East The archaeogenetics of the Near East involves the study of aDNA or ancient DNA,...
- Genetic history of the British IslesGenetic history of the British IslesThe genetic history of the British Isles is the subject of research within the larger field of human population genetics. It has developed in parallel with DNA testing technologies capable of identifying genetic similarities and differences between populations...
- Genetic history of indigenous peoples of the Americas
- Genetic history of EuropeGenetic history of EuropeThe genetic history of Europe can be inferred from the patterns of genetic diversity across continents and time. The primary data to develop historical scenarios coming from sequences of mitochondrial, Y-chromosome and autosomal DNA from modern populations and if available from ancient DNA...
- Genetic history of ItalyGenetic history of ItalyDuring prehistory Italy was populated by different but very similar Indo-European groups, later collectively listed amongst the Ancient peoples of Italy, of whom the Italic one was predominant....
- Genetics and archaeogenetics of South AsiaGenetics and archaeogenetics of South AsiaThe study of the genetics and archaeogenetics of the ethnic groups of South Asia aims at uncovering these groups' genetic history. The geographic position of India makes Indian populations important for the study of the early dispersal of all human populations on the Eurasian continent.The Indian...