Editing Saka (section)

== Genetics ==
{{See also|Scythian cultures#Genetics|Scythians#Genetics|Sarmatians#Genetics|Tagar culture#Genetics}}
The earliest studies could only analyze segments of mtDNA, thus providing only broad correlations of affinity to modern West Eurasian or East Eurasian populations. For example, in a 2002 study the mitochondrial DNA of Saka period male and female skeletal remains from a double inhumation [[kurgan]] at the Beral site in Kazakhstan was analysed. The two individuals were found to be not closely related. The HV1 mitochondrial sequence of the male was similar to the Anderson sequence which is most frequent in European populations. The HV1 sequence of the female suggested a greater likelihood of Asian origins.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Clisson, I. |display-authors=etal |date=2002 |title= Genetic analysis of human remains from a double inhumation in a frozen kurgan in Kazakhstan (Berel site, early 3rd century BC). |journal=International Journal of Legal Medicine |volume= 116 |issue=5 |pages=304–308 |pmid=12376844 |doi= 10.1007/s00414-002-0295-x |s2cid=27711154 }}</ref>

More recent studies have been able to type for specific [[human mitochondrial DNA haplogroup|mtDNA lineages]]. For example, a 2004 study examined the [[hypervariable region|HV1 sequence]] obtained from a male "Scytho-Siberian" at the [[Kyzyl|Kizil]] site in the [[Altai Republic]]. It belonged to the [[haplogroup N (mtDNA)|N1a]] maternal lineage, a geographically West Eurasian lineage.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Ricaut F. |display-authors=etal | year = 2004 | title = Genetic Analysis of a Scytho-Siberian Skeleton and Its Implications for Ancient Central Asian Migrations | journal = Human Biology | volume = 76 | issue = 1| pages = 109–125 | doi=10.1353/hub.2004.0025 | pmid=15222683|s2cid=35948291 }}</ref> Another study by the same team, again of mtDNA from two Scytho-Siberian skeletons found in the Altai Republic, showed that they had been typical males "of mixed Euro-Mongoloid origin". One of the individuals was found to carry the [[Haplogroup F (mtDNA)|F2a]] maternal lineage, and the other the [[Haplogroup D (mtDNA)|D]] lineage, both of which are characteristic of East Eurasian populations.<ref>{{cite journal |author= Ricaut, F. |display-authors=etal |date=2004 |title= Genetic Analysis and Ethnic Affinities From Two Scytho-Siberian Skeletons|journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology|volume= 123|issue=4 |pages=351–360 |pmid = 15022363 |doi= 10.1002/ajpa.10323}}</ref>

[[File:Pazyryk man (reconstruction, Anokhin Museum).jpg|thumb|left|upright|A Saka man from the [[Pazyryk culture]] (reconstruction from burials, [[Anokhin Museum]]).<ref name="ST">{{cite journal |title=Legal bid fails to rebury remains of 2,500 year old tattooed 'ice princess' |journal=The Siberian Times |date=2016 |url=https://siberiantimes.com/other/others/news/n0574-legal-bid-fails-to-rebury-remains-of-2500-year-old-tattooed-ice-princess/}}</ref>]]
These early studies have been elaborated by an increasing number of studies by Russian and western scholars. Conclusions are (i) an early, Bronze Age mixing of both west and east Eurasian lineages, with western lineages being found far to the east, but not vice versa; (ii) an apparent reversal by Iron Age times, with an increasing presence of East Eurasian [[mtDNA]] lineages in the Western steppe; (iii) the possible role of migrations from the south, the Balkano-Danubian and Iranian regions, toward the steppe.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Tracing the Origin of the East-West Population Admixture in the Altai Region (Central Asia) |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=7 |issue=11 |pages=e48904 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0048904 |pmid=23152818 |pmc=3494716 |year=2012 |last1=González-Ruiz |first1=Mercedes |last2=Santos |first2=Cristina |last3=Jordana |first3=Xavier |last4=Simón |first4=Marc |last5=Lalueza-Fox |first5=Carles |last6=Gigli |first6=Elena |last7=Aluja |first7=Maria Pilar |last8=Malgosa |first8=Assumpció |bibcode=2012PLoSO...748904G |doi-access=free }}</ref>{{sfn|Unterländer|Palstra|Lazaridis|Pilipenko|2017}}

Unterländer, et al. (2017) found genetic evidence that the modern-day descendants of Eastern Scythians are found "almost exclusively" among modern-day [[Siberian Turkic]] speakers, suggesting that future studies could determine the extent to which the Eastern Scythians were involved in the early formation of Turkic-speaking populations.<ref>{{harvnb|Unterländer|2017|p=69|ps=: "Thirdly, contemporary populations with the highest likelihood of being directly descended from eastern Scythian groups are almost exclusively Turkic language speakers (Supplementary Fig. 10b). Particularly high statistical support was documented for some Turkic speaking groups geographically located close to the archaeological sites of the eastern Scythians (e.g. Telenghits, Tubular, Tofalar), but also among Turkic speaking populations located in Central Asia (e.g. Kyrgyz, Kazakhs and Karakalpaks) (Supplementary Fig. 11). These same results were found for some Turkic groups located even further to the West, such as the Kazan Volga-Tatars. Finally, contemporary populations likely to share a common ancestor with eastern Scythians were mainly found among Turkic, Mongolian and Siberian groups located in eastern Eurasia (Supplementary Fig. 10d and Supplementary Fig. 11). In summary, these results provide further support for a multi-regional origin of the various Scythian groups from the Iron Age."}}</ref>

===Haplogroups===
Ancient Y-DNA data was finally provided by Keyser ''et al.'' in 2009. They studied the haplotypes and haplogroups of 26 ancient human specimens from the [[Krasnoyarsk]] area in [[Siberia]] dated from between the middle of the 2nd millennium BC and the 4th century AD (Scythian and [[Sarmatian]] timeframe). Nearly all subjects belonged to [[haplogroup R-M17]]. The authors suggest that their data shows that between the Bronze and the Iron Ages the constellation of populations known variously as Scythians, [[Andronovo culture|Andronovians]], etc. were blue- (or green-) eyed, fair-skinned and light-haired people who might have played a role in the early development of the [[Tarim Basin]] civilisation. Moreover, this study found that they were genetically more closely related to modern populations in eastern Europe than those of central and southern Asia.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Ancient DNA provides new insights into the history of south Siberian Kurgan people |journal=Human Genetics |volume =126| issue = 3 |date= September 2009|doi=10.1007/s00439-009-0683-0 |pages=395–410 |pmid=19449030 | last1 = Keyser | first1 = C | last2 = Bouakaze | first2 = C | last3 = Crubézy | first3 = E |s2cid=21347353 |display-authors=etal }}</ref> The ubiquity and dominance of the R1a Y-DNA lineage contrasted markedly with the diversity seen in the mtDNA profiles.

In May 2018, a genetic study published in ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' examined the remains of twenty-eight Inner Asian Sakas buried between ca. 900 BC to AD 1, compromising eight Sakas of [[southern Siberia]] ([[Tagar culture]]), eight Sakas of the [[central steppe]] ([[Tasmola culture]]), and twelve Sakas of the [[Tian Shan]]. The six samples of [[Y-DNA]] extracted from the Tian Shan Saka belonged to the West Eurasian haplogroups [[Haplogroup R (Y-DNA)|R]] (four samples), [[Haplogroup R1|R1]] and [[R1a1]]. Four samples of Y-DNA extracted from central Steppe sakas belonged to haplogroup R1 and R1a, while one individual belonged to haplogroup [[Haplogroup E-M123|E1b1b]].<ref name="nature.com">{{cite journal |last1=Damgaard |first1=Peter de Barros |title=137 ancient human genomes from across the Eurasian steppes |journal=Nature |date=May 2018 |volume=557 |issue=7705 |pages=369–374 |doi=10.1038/s41586-018-0094-2 |pmid=29743675 |bibcode=2018Natur.557..369D |hdl=1887/3202709 |s2cid=13670282 |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0094-2 |language=english|hdl-access=free }}</ref>

The samples of [[mtDNA]] extracted from the Tian Shan Saka belonged to [[Haplogroup C (mtDNA)|C4]], [[Haplogroup H (mtDNA)#H4|H4d]], [[Haplogroup T (mtDNA)|T2a1]], [[Haplogroup U (mtDNA)#Haplogroup U5|U5a1d2b]], [[Haplogroup H (mtDNA)#H2|H2a]], [[Haplogroup U (mtDNA)#Haplogroup U5|U5a1a1]], [[Haplogroup HV (mtDNA)|HV6]] (two samples), [[Haplogroup D (mtDNA)#D4|D4j8]] (two samples), [[Haplogroup W (mtDNA)|W1c]] and [[Haplogroup G (mtDNA)|G2a1]].<ref name="nature.com"/>

According to Tikhonov, et al. (2019), the Eastern Scythians and the Xiongnu "possibly bore proto-Turkic elements", based on a continuation of maternal and paternal haplogroups.<ref>{{harvnb|Tikhonov|Gurkan|Peler|Dyakonov|2019|p=42|ps=: "In other words, there is an apparent population continuity from the Scythians to the Xiongnu and then onto the Turkic people, possibly because the former two already bore proto-Turkic elements."}}</ref>

===Autosomal DNA===
{{multiple image
| align             = right
| direction         = vertical
| width             = 231
| image1            = Bronze to Iron Age Steppe peoples genetic makeup.png
| caption1          = Genetic makeup of Bronze and Iron Age Steppe populations
| image2            = Genetic makeup of the Saka and Scythian cultures.png
| caption2          = Map of Scythian cultures, including different Saka populations with genetic profiles, combining Steppe_MLBA, BMAC, and Khövsgöl LBA ancestries.
| image3            = Scythian genetic makeup.png
| caption3          = Genetic makeup of Iron Age Central Asian Scythians. The three main ancestry components are shown in green, red and violet representing the ancestries maximized in [[Anatolian Neolithic Farmers|Anatolian farmers]], [[Ganj Dareh|Iranian farmers]], and [[West Siberian hunter-gatherer|Hunter Gatherers from West Siberia]], respectively.
}}
[[File:Arzhan-2 forensic reconstruction of the King and Queen.jpg|thumb|Forensic reconstruction of the Saka King and Queen of [[Arzhan-2]], in their burial costumes (650-600 BC).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Веселовская |first1=Е.В. |last2=Галеев |first2=Р.М. |title=АНТРОПОЛОГИЧЕСКАЯ РЕКОНСТРУКЦИЯ ВНЕШНЕГО ОБЛИКА "ЦАРЯ" И "ЦАРИЦЫ" РАННЕСКИФСКОГО ПОГРЕБАЛЬНО-ПОМИНАЛЬНОГО КОМПЛЕКСА АРЖАН-2 |journal=Вестник археологии, антропологии и этнографии |date=2020 |volume=2 |issue=49 |url=http://www.ipdn.ru/_private/a49/112-122.pdf |quote=In anthropological terms, the buried show a peculiar mosaic of Caucasoid and Mongoloid features. They are characterized by brachycephaly and dome-shaped head, with notably developed rugosity of the supercilium in the man and its absence in the woman. For the man, an average width of the face and a narrow forehead of medium height are noted. The woman has broad face and forehead, the height of the forehead is average. Both portraits are characterized by prominent position of eyeballs and large eyes. Man’s nose is short, prominent, with convex dorsum. Woman’s nose has a wavy dorsum, and is slightly prominent. On the male portrait, the cheekbones are moderate, on the female one — high and prominent. Faces of the «royal» persons are flattened in the upper part, with a certain degree of alveolar prognathism. The lower jaw of the man is medium in size, narrow in the corners. For the woman, some gracility of the lower jaw can be noted.}}</ref>]]
The 2018 in study detected significant genetic differences between analyzed Inner Asian Saka-associated samples and Scythian samples of the [[Pannonian Basin]], as well as between different Saka subgroups of southern Siberia, the central steppe and the Tian Shan. While Scythians (or "Hungarian Saka") harbored exclusively ancestry associated with [[Western Steppe Herders]], Inner Asian Saka displayed additional Neolithic Iranian (BMAC) and Southern Siberian hunter-gatherer (represented through a proxy of modern [[Altaians]]) components in varying degrees. Tian Shan Sakas were found to be of about 70% [[Western Steppe Herder]] (WSH) ancestry, 25% Southern Siberian Hunter-Gatherer ancestry and 5% Iranian Neolithic ancestry. The Iranian Neolithic ancestry was probably from the [[Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex]]. Sakas of the Tasmola culture were found to be of about 56% WSH ancestry and 44% Southern Siberian Hunter-Gather ancestry. The peoples of the Tagar culture had about 83.5% WSH ancestry, 9% [[Ancient North Eurasian]] (ANE) ancestry and 7.5% Southern Siberian Hunter-Gatherer ancestry. The study suggested that the Inner Asian Saka were the source of West Eurasian ancestry among the [[Xiongnu]], and that the [[Huns]] probably emerged through minor male-driven geneflow into the Saka through westward migrations by the Xiongnu.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Damgaard |first1=Peter de Barros |title=137 ancient human genomes from across the Eurasian steppes |journal=Nature |date=May 2018 |volume=557 |issue=7705 |pages=369–374 |doi=10.1038/s41586-018-0094-2 |pmid=29743675 |bibcode=2018Natur.557..369D |hdl=1887/3202709 |s2cid=13670282 |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0094-2 |language=english|hdl-access=free }} "Principal component analyses and D-statistics suggest that the Xiongnu individuals belong to two distinct groups, one being of East Asian origin and the other presenting considerable admixture levels with West Eurasian sources... Principal Component Analyses and D-statistics suggest that the Xiongnu individuals belong to two distinct groups, one being of East Asian origin and the other presenting considerable admixture levels with West Eurasian sources... We find that Central Sakas are accepted as a source for these 'western-admixed' Xiongnu in a single-wave model. In line with this finding, no East Asian gene flow is detected compared to Central Sakas as these form a clade with respect to the East Asian Xiongnu in a D-statistic, and furthermore, cluster closely together in the PCA (Figure 2)... Overall, our data show that the Xiongnu confederation was genetically heterogeneous, and that the Huns emerged following minor male-driven East Asian gene flow into the preceding Sakas that they invaded... As such our results support the contention that the disappearance of the Inner Asian Scythians and Sakas around two thousand years ago was a cultural transition that coincided with the westward migration of the Xiongnu. This Xiongnu invasion also led to the displacement of isolated remnant groups related to Late Bronze Age pastoralists that had remained on the southeastern side of the Tian Shan mountains."</ref> A genetic study published in 2020 in ''[[Cell (journal)|Cell]]'',{{sfn|Jeong|Wang|Wilkin|Taylor|2020}} modeled the ancestry of several Saka groups as a combination of [[Sintashta]] ([[Western Steppe Herders]]) and [[Baikal EBA]] ancestry ([[Lake Baikal|Western Baikal]] early Bronze Age hunter-gatherers, a profile consisting of about 80% [[Ancient Northeast Asian]] and 20% [[Ancient North Eurasian]] ancestries),{{sfn|Jeong|Wang|Wilkin|Taylor|2020|loc="Previously, we reported a shared genetic profile among EBA western Baikal hunter-gatherers (Baikal_EBA) and Late Bronze Age (LBA) pastoralists in northern Mongolia (Khövsgöl_LBA) (Jeong et al., 2018). This genetic profile, composed of major and minor ANA and ANE ancestry components, respectively, is also shared with the earlier eastern Baikal (Fofonovo_EN) and Mongolian (centralMongolia_preBA) groups analyzed in this study (Figures 3A, 3B, and 4A), suggesting a regional persistence of this genetic profile for nearly three millennia." (...) "Ancient ANA individuals fall close to the cluster of present-day Tungusic- and Nivkh-speaking populations in northeast Asia, indicating that their genetic profile is still present in indigenous populations of the Far East today"}} with varying degrees of an additional Neolithic Iranian ([[Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex|BMAC]]) component.{{sfn|Jeong|Wang|Wilkin|Taylor|2020}} Specifically, Central Sakas of the [[Tasmola culture]] were found to be of about 43% Sintashta ancestry, 50% Baikal_EBA ancestry and 7% BMAC ancestry. Tagar Sakas ([[Tagar culture]]) were found to have an elevated Sintashta proportion (69% Sintashta, 24% Baikal_EBA, and 7% BMAC), while [[Tian Shan]] Sakas had an elevated BMAC proportion at 24% (50% Sintashta, 26% Baikal_EBA, and 24% BMAC). The eastern Uyuk Sakas ([[Arzhan culture]]) had 50% Sintashta, 44% Baikal_EBA, and 6% BMAC ancestry. The [[Pazyryk culture|Pazyryk]] Sakas had elevated Baikal_EBA ancestry, with a nearly non-existent BMAC component (32% Sintashta, 68% Baikal_EBA, and ~0% BMAC).{{sfn|Jeong|Wang|Wilkin|Taylor|2020|loc=Visualization: Figure 3C Statistics: Table S5. Population Modeling, Related to Figures 3, 4, and 5. (D)}} Two other genetic studies published in 2021 and 2022 found that the Saka originated from a shared WSH-like ([[Srubnaya]], [[Sintashta culture|Sintashta]], and [[Andronovo culture]]) background with additional BMAC and East Eurasian-like ancestry. The Eastern ancestry among the Saka can also be represented by Lake Baikal (Shamanka_EBA-like) groups. The spread of Saka-like ancestry can be linked with the dispersal of [[Eastern Iranian languages]] (such as [[Khotanese language|Khotanese]]).<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kumar |first1=Vikas |last2=Wang |first2=Wenjun |last3=Zhang |first3=Jie |last4=Wang |first4=Yongqiang |last5=Ruan |first5=Qiurong |last6=Yu |first6=Jianjun |last7=Wu |first7=Xiaohong |last8=Hu |first8=Xingjun |last9=Wu |first9=Xinhua |last10=Guo |first10=Wu |last11=Wang |first11=Bo |last12=Niyazi |first12=Alipujiang |last13=Lv |first13=Enguo |last14=Tang |first14=Zihua |last15=Cao |first15=Peng |date=April 2022 |title=Bronze and Iron Age population movements underlie Xinjiang population history |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abk1534 |journal=Science |language=en |volume=376 |issue=6588 |pages=62–69 |bibcode=2022Sci...376...62K |doi=10.1126/science.abk1534 |issn=0036-8075 |pmid=35357918 |s2cid=247855352 |quote=Of these, the Sakas were the descendants of Late Bronze Age (LBA) herders (such as the Andronovo, Srubnaya, and Sintashta) with additional ancestries derived from Lake Baikal (Shamanka_EBA) (EBA, Early Bronze Age) and BMAC populations (1, 17, 18). ... Further, although the spread of languages is not always congruent with population histories (32), the presence of Saka ancestry in Xinj_IA populations supports an IA introduction of the Indo-Iranian Khotanese language, which was spoken by the Saka and later attested to in this region (19).}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kumar |first1=Vikas |last2=Bennett |first2=E Andrew |last3=Zhao |first3=Dongyue |last4=Liang |first4=Yun |last5=Tang |first5=Yunpeng |last6=Ren |first6=Meng |last7=Dai |first7=Qinyan |last8=Feng |first8=Xiaotian |last9=Cao |first9=Peng |last10=Yang |first10=Ruowei |last11=Liu |first11=Feng |last12=Ping |first12=Wanjing |last13=Zhang |first13=Ming |last14=Ding |first14=Manyu |last15=Yang |first15=Melinda A |date=28 July 2021 |title=Genetic Continuity of Bronze Age Ancestry with Increased Steppe-Related Ancestry in Late Iron Age Uzbekistan |url=|journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution |volume=38 |issue=11 |pages=4908–4917 |doi=10.1093/molbev/msab216 |issn=0737-4038 |pmc=8557446 |pmid=34320653}}</ref>

A later different Eastern influx is evident in three outlier samples of the [[Tasmola culture]] (Tasmola Birlik) and one of the [[Pazyryk culture]] (Pazyryk Berel), which displayed c. 70-83% additional [[Ancient Northeast Asian]] ancestry represented by the Neolithic [[Devil’s Gate Cave]] specimen, suggesting them to be recent migrants from further East. The same additional Eastern ancestry is found among the later groups of Huns (Hun Berel 300CE, Hun elite 350CE), and the Karakaba remains (830CE). At the same time, western [[Sarmatian]]-like and minor additional BMAC-like ancestry spread eastwards, with a Saka-associated sample from southeastern [[Kazakhstan]] (Konyr Tobe 300CE) displaying around 85% Sarmatian and 15% BMAC ancestry. Sarmatians are modeled to derive primarily from the preceding Western Steppe Herders of the [[Pontic–Caspian steppe]].<ref name=":12">{{Cite journal |last=Gnecchi-Ruscone |first=Guido Alberto |date=26 March 2021 |title=Ancient genomic time transect from the Central Asian Steppe unravels the history of the Scythians |journal=Science Advances |language=en |volume=7 |issue=13 |bibcode=2021SciA....7.4414G |doi=10.1126/sciadv.abe4414 |issn=2375-2548 |pmc=7997506 |pmid=33771866}}</ref>[[File:Central Asian haplogroups through time.png|thumb|left|upright=1.5|The Sakas represent a unique period of West-East admixture along the Altai line during the Iron Age, which has been a defining characteristic of Central Asian populations until modern times.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=González-Ruiz |first1=Mercedes |last2=Santos |first2=Cristina |last3=Jordana |first3=Xavier |last4=Simón |first4=Marc |last5=Lalueza-Fox |first5=Carles |last6=Gigli |first6=Elena |last7=Aluja |first7=Maria Pilar |last8=Malgosa |first8=Assumpció |title=Tracing the Origin of the East-West Population Admixture in the Altai Region (Central Asia) |journal=PLOS ONE |date=9 November 2012 |volume=7 |issue=11 |pages=e48904 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0048904 |pmid=23152818 |pmc=3494716 |bibcode=2012PLoSO...748904G |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233389263 |quote=The Pazyryk groups analysed so far appear to be genetically homogeneous and they did not present significant genetic differences to current Altaians. These results suggest that roots of the current genetic diversity and admixture of the Altai region in Central Asia could be traced back to the Iron Age. |doi-access=free }}</ref>]]The most closely related modern population to the Saka (and other Scythian groups) are the [[Tajiks]], an [[Iranian peoples]] indigenous to Southern Central Asia, which display genetic continuity to Bronze and Iron Age Central Asians. These genetic links are paralleled by previous proposed "linguistic and physical anthropological links between the Tajiks and Scythians".<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Dai |first1=Shan-Shan |last2=Sulaiman |first2=Xierzhatijiang |last3=Isakova |first3=Jainagul |last4=Xu |first4=Wei-Fang |last5=Abdulloevich |first5=Najmudinov Tojiddin |last6=Afanasevna |first6=Manilova Elena |last7=Ibrohimovich |first7=Khudoidodov Behruz |last8=Chen |first8=Xi |last9=Yang |first9=Wei-Kang |last10=Wang |first10=Ming-Shan |last11=Shen |first11=Quan-Kuan |last12=Yang |first12=Xing-Yan |last13=Yao |first13=Yong-Gang |last14=Aldashev |first14=Almaz A |last15=Saidov |first15=Abdusattor |date=25 August 2022 |title=The Genetic Echo of the Tarim Mummies in Modern Central Asians |url=|journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution |volume=39 |issue=9 |doi=10.1093/molbev/msac179 |issn=0737-4038 |pmc=9469894 |pmid=36006373 |quote=Given the Steppe-related ancestry (e.g., Andronovo) existing in Scythians (i.e., Saka; Unterländer et al. 2017; Damgaard et al. 2018; Guarino-Vignon et al. 2022), the proposed linguistic and physical anthropological links between the Tajiks and Scythians (Han 1993; Kuz′mina and Mallory 2007) may be ascribed to their shared Steppe-related ancestry.}}</ref> There is also increasing evidence for genetic affinities between the Eastern Scythians (such as the [[Pazyryk culture]]) and [[Turkic languages|Turkic]]-speaking groups,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tikhonov |first1=Dmitrii |last2=Gurkan |first2=Cemal |last3=Peler |first3=Gökçe |last4=Dyakonov |first4=Viktor |date=2019 |title=On The Genetic Continuity of the Iron Age Pazyryk Culture: Geographic Distributions of the Paternal and Maternal Lineages from the Ak-Alakha-1 Burial |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331179436 |journal=International Journal of Human Genetics |volume=19 |issue=1 |doi=10.31901/24566330.2019/19.01.709 |s2cid=202015095|doi-access=free }} "The substantial presence of the Ak-Alakha-1 mtDNA and Y-STR haplotypes in the contemporary Anatolian populations may be attributed to two major historical events: (a) the less likely being the Scythian invasion of Anatolia around 7th century BCE and settlement for around 30 years near the Aras or Araxes River (Herodotus 1920), and (b) the more likely being the Central Asiatic Turkic migrations into Anatolia from around 11th century CE onwards, keeping in mind the ever growing support for a strong genetic continuity between the ancient eastern Scythians and the proto-Turkic tribes (Unterlander et al. 2017)."</ref> which formed via admixture events during the Iron Age between local Saka groups and geneflow from the Eastern Steppe,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Dai |first1=Shan-Shan |last2=Sulaiman |first2=Xierzhatijiang |last3=Isakova |first3=Jainagul |last4=Xu |first4=Wei-Fang |last5=Abdulloevich |first5=Najmudinov Tojiddin |last6=Afanasevna |first6=Manilova Elena |last7=Ibrohimovich |first7=Khudoidodov Behruz |last8=Chen |first8=Xi |last9=Yang |first9=Wei-Kang |last10=Wang |first10=Ming-Shan |last11=Shen |first11=Quan-Kuan |last12=Yang |first12=Xing-Yan |last13=Yao |first13=Yong-Gang |last14=Aldashev |first14=Almaz A |last15=Saidov |first15=Abdusattor |date=25 August 2022 |title=The Genetic Echo of the Tarim Mummies in Modern Central Asians |url=|journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution |volume=39 |issue=9 |doi=10.1093/molbev/msac179 |issn=0737-4038 |pmc=9469894 |pmid=36006373 |quote=By contrast, the Kyrgyz, together with other Turkic-speaking populations, originated from the admixture since the Iron Age. The Historical Era gene flow derived from the Eastern Steppe with the representative of Mongolia_Xiongnu_o1 made a more substantial contribution to Kyrgyz and other Turkic-speaking populations (i.e., Kazakh, Uyghur, Turkmen, and Uzbek; 34.9–55.2%) higher than that to the Tajik populations (11.6–18.6%; fig. 4A), suggesting Tajiks suffer fewer impacts of the recent admixtures (Martínez-Cruz et al. 2011). Consequently, the Tajik populations generally present patterns of genetic continuity of Central Asians since the Bronze Age. Our results are consistent with linguistic and genetic evidence that the spreading of Indo-European speakers into Central Asia was earlier than the expansion of Turkic speakers (Kuz′mina and Mallory 2007; Yunusbayev et al. 2015).}}</ref> but also [[Uralic]] and [[Ancient Paleo-Siberian|Paleo-Siberian]] peoples.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gurkan |first=Cemal |date=8 January 2019 |title=On The Genetic Continuity of the Iron Age Pazyryk Culture: Geographic Distributions of the Paternal and Maternal Lineages from the Ak-Alakha-1 Burial |journal=International Journal of Human Genetics |volume=19 |issue=1 |doi=10.31901/24566330.2019/19.01.709 |issn=0972-3757 |quote=Notably, there is clear population continuity between the Uralic people such as Khants, Mansis and Nganasans, Paleo-Siberian people such as Yukaghirs and Chuvantsi, and the Pazyryk people even when considering just the two mtDNA and Y-STR haplotypes from the Ak-Alakha-1 mound 1 kurgan (Tables 1a, b, Table 2, Fig. 1).|doi-access=free }}</ref> The admixture with West Eurasian sources was found to be "in accordance with the linguistically documented language borrowing in Turkic languages".<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=He |first1=Guang-Lin |last2=Wang |first2=Meng-Ge |last3=Zou |first3=Xing |last4=Yeh |first4=Hui-Yuan |last5=Liu |first5=Chang-Hui |last6=Liu |first6=Chao |last7=Chen |first7=Gang |last8=Wang |first8=Chuan-Chao |date=January 2023 |title=Extensive ethnolinguistic diversity at the crossroads of North China and South Siberia reflects multiple sources of genetic diversity |url=https://zenodo.org/record/8179175|journal=Journal of Systematics and Evolution |language=en |volume=61 |issue=1 |pages=230–250 |doi=10.1111/jse.12827 |s2cid=245849003 |issn=1674-4918}}</ref>

===East-West migrations and cultural transmission===
Genetic data across Eurasia suggest that the Scythian cultural phenomenon was accompanied by some degree of migration from east to west, starting in the area of the [[Altai Mountains|Altai region]].<ref name="MJ"/> In particular, the Classical Scythians of the western Eurasian steppe were not direct descendants of the local Bronze Age populations, but partly resulted from this east–west spread.<ref name="MJ"/> This also suggests that Scythoïd cultural characteristics were not simply the result of the transfer of material culture, but were also accompanied by human migrations of Saka populations from the east.<ref name="MJ">{{cite journal |last1=Järve |first1=Mari |last2=Saag |first2=Lehti |last3=Scheib |first3=Christiana Lyn |last4=Pathak |first4=Ajai K. |last5=Montinaro |first5=Francesco |last6=Pagani |first6=Luca |last7=Flores |first7=Rodrigo |last8=Guellil |first8=Meriam |last9=Saag |first9=Lauri |last10=Tambets |first10=Kristiina |last11=Kushniarevich |first11=Alena |last12=Solnik |first12=Anu |last13=Varul |first13=Liivi |last14=Zadnikov |first14=Stanislav |last15=Petrauskas |first15=Oleg |last16=Avramenko |first16=Maryana |last17=Magomedov |first17=Boris |last18=Didenko |first18=Serghii |last19=Toshev |first19=Gennadi |last20=Bruyako |first20=Igor |last21=Grechko |first21=Denys |last22=Okatenko |first22=Vitalii |last23=Gorbenko |first23=Kyrylo |last24=Smyrnov |first24=Oleksandr |last25=Heiko |first25=Anatolii |last26=Reida |first26=Roman |last27=Sapiehin |first27=Serheii |last28=Sirotin |first28=Sergey |last29=Tairov |first29=Aleksandr |last30=Beisenov |first30=Arman |last31=Starodubtsev |first31=Maksim |last32=Vasilev |first32=Vitali |last33=Nechvaloda |first33=Alexei |last34=Atabiev |first34=Biyaslan |last35=Litvinov |first35=Sergey |last36=Ekomasova |first36=Natalia |last37=Dzhaubermezov |first37=Murat |last38=Voroniatov |first38=Sergey |last39=Utevska |first39=Olga |last40=Shramko |first40=Irina |last41=Khusnutdinova |first41=Elza |last42=Metspalu |first42=Mait |last43=Savelev |first43=Nikita |last44=Kriiska |first44=Aivar |last45=Kivisild |first45=Toomas |last46=Villems |first46=Richard |title=Shifts in the Genetic Landscape of the Western Eurasian Steppe Associated with the Beginning and End of the Scythian Dominance |journal=Current Biology |date=July 2019 |volume=29 |issue=14 |pages=2430–2441.e10 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2019.06.019 |pmid=31303491 |issn=0960-9822 |quote=This is compatible with a moderate westward increase of the Altaian genetic component in the Steppe during the Scythian period, implying the involvement of at least some degree of migration (east to west; the more complicated scenarios that have been proposed [11] are not supported by our results) in the spread of the Scythian culture. This fits the previous observation that the Iron Age nomads of the western Eurasian Steppe were not direct descendants of the Bronze Age population [2] and suggests that the ‘‘Scythian world’’ cannot be described solely in terms of material culture.|doi-access=free |bibcode=2019CBio...29E2430J }}</ref>

The region between the [[Caspian Sea]] and of the Southern Urals originally had populations of [[Srubnaya]] (1900 BC–1200 BCE) and [[Andronovo]] (c. 2000–1150 BCE) ancestry ancestry, but, starting with the [[Iron Age]] (c.1000 BCE) became a region of intense ethnic and cultural interaction between European and Asian components.<ref name="MJE4">{{cite journal |last1=Järve |first1=Mari |last2=Saag |first2=Lehti |last3=Scheib |first3=Christiana Lyn |last4=Pathak |first4=Ajai K. |last5=Montinaro |first5=Francesco |last6=Pagani |first6=Luca |last7=Flores |first7=Rodrigo |last8=Guellil |first8=Meriam |last9=Saag |first9=Lauri |last10=Tambets |first10=Kristiina |last11=Kushniarevich |first11=Alena |last12=Solnik |first12=Anu |last13=Varul |first13=Liivi |last14=Zadnikov |first14=Stanislav |last15=Petrauskas |first15=Oleg |last16=Avramenko |first16=Maryana |last17=Magomedov |first17=Boris |last18=Didenko |first18=Serghii |last19=Toshev |first19=Gennadi |last20=Bruyako |first20=Igor |last21=Grechko |first21=Denys |last22=Okatenko |first22=Vitalii |last23=Gorbenko |first23=Kyrylo |last24=Smyrnov |first24=Oleksandr |last25=Heiko |first25=Anatolii |last26=Reida |first26=Roman |last27=Sapiehin |first27=Serheii |last28=Sirotin |first28=Sergey |last29=Tairov |first29=Aleksandr |last30=Beisenov |first30=Arman |last31=Starodubtsev |first31=Maksim |last32=Vasilev |first32=Vitali |last33=Nechvaloda |first33=Alexei |last34=Atabiev |first34=Biyaslan |last35=Litvinov |first35=Sergey |last36=Ekomasova |first36=Natalia |last37=Dzhaubermezov |first37=Murat |last38=Voroniatov |first38=Sergey |last39=Utevska |first39=Olga |last40=Shramko |first40=Irina |last41=Khusnutdinova |first41=Elza |last42=Metspalu |first42=Mait |last43=Savelev |first43=Nikita |last44=Kriiska |first44=Aivar |last45=Kivisild |first45=Toomas |last46=Villems |first46=Richard |title=Shifts in the Genetic Landscape of the Western Eurasian Steppe Associated with the Beginning and End of the Scythian Dominance |journal=Current Biology |date=22 July 2019 |volume=29 |issue=14 |pages=e4–e5 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2019.06.019 |issn=0960-9822|doi-access=free |pmid=31303491 |bibcode=2019CBio...29E2430J }}</ref> From the 7th century BCE, Early Saka nomads started to settle in the Southern Urals, coming from [[Central Asia]], the [[Altai-Sayan]] region, and Central and Northern [[Kazakhstan]].<ref name="MJE4"/> The [[Itkul culture]] (7th-5th century BCE) is one of these Early Saka cultures, based in the eastern foothills of the Urals, which was assimilated into the [[Sauromatian]] and Early [[Sarmatian]] cultures.<ref name="MJE4"/> Circa 600 BCE, groups from the Saka [[Tasmola culture]] settled in the southern Urals.<ref name="MJE4"/> Circa 500 BCE, other groups from the area of Ancient [[Khorezm]] settled in the western part of the southern Urals, who also assimilated into the Early Sarmatians.<ref name="MJE4"/> As a result, a large-scale integrated union of nomads from [[Central Asia]] formed in the area in the 5th–4th century BCE, with fairly uniformized cultural practices.<ref name="MJE4"/> This cultural complex, with notable ‘‘foreign elements’’, corresponds to the ‘‘royal’’ burials of [[Filippovka kurgan]], and define the "Prokhorovka period" of the Early Sarmatians.<ref name="MJE4"/>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px" perrow="4">
File:Filippovka, individuals on a dagger blade, Kurgan 4, Burial 2.jpg|Warriors with daggers and bows. Dagger blade decoration from Kurgan 4, Burial 2, [[Filippovka kurgans]], Late [[Sauromatian]]-Early [[Sarmatian]], 5th-4th century BCE.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Yablonsky |first1=Leonid Teodorovich |title=New Excavations of the Early Nomadic Burial Ground at Filippovka (Southern Ural Region, Russia) |journal=American Journal of Archaeology |date=2010 |volume=114 |issue=1 |page=137, Fig.13 |doi=10.3764/aja.114.1.129 |jstor=20627646 |s2cid=191399666 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20627646 |issn=0002-9114}}</ref>
File:Taksai-1_Barrow_6_lady_(reconstruction,_detail).jpg|"Golden Lady " from the [[Taksai kurgans]], c. 500 BCE.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lukpanova |first1=Ya.A. |title=Reconstruction of Female Costume From the Elite Burial Ground Taksay-I: a View of the Archaeology. |journal=Povolzhskaya Arkheologiya (The Volga River Region Arcaheology) |date=2017 |volume=1 |issue=19 |url=https://www.academia.edu/32899848}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Golden Man from Shilikty and Golden Woman from Taksai |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/9228922@N03/36214368340/in/album-72157684182450632/ |publisher=Nur-sultan - National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan |date=23 July 2017}}</ref>
</gallery>