Biological Ancestries, Kinship Connections, and Projected Identities in Four Central Anatolian Settlements: Insights from Culturally Contextualized Genetic Anthropology

Abstract

Previous population genetics studies in Turkey failed to delineate recent historical and social factors that shaped Anatolian cultural and genetic diversity at the local level. To address this shortcoming, we conducted focused ethnohistorical fieldwork and screened biological samples collected from the Yuksekyer region for mitochondrial, Y chromosome, and autosomal markers and then analyzed the data within an ethnohistorical context. Our results revealed that, at the village level, paternal genetic diversity is structured among settlements, whereas maternal genetic diversity is distributed more homogenously, reflecting the strong patrilineal cultural traditions that transcend larger ethnic and religious structures. Local ancestries and origin myths, rather than ethnic or religious affiliations, delineate the social boundaries and projected identities among the villages. Therefore, we conclude that broad, ethnicity-based sampling is inadequate to capture the genetic signatures of recent social and historical dynamics, which have had a profound influence on contemporary genetic and cultural regional diversity.

GSTM1, GSTP1, and GSTT1 genetic variability in Turkish and worldwide populations

“…This result is in agreement with the current knowledge about the genetic structure of the Anatolia peninsula. The Turkish population is an admixture of European, Middle East, and Central Asia ancestries reflecting the gene flows from different Euroasian populations (Cinnioglu et al, ; Gokcumen et al, ; Mergen et al, ; Rootsi et al, ). Specifically, high GSTM1 null frequencies and low GSTT1 null frequencies were observed for Turkish and European populations.…”

“…In this regard, to the best of our knowledge, no study has reported the distribution of GSTM1 positive/null, GSTT1 positive/null, GSTP1*I105V, and GSTP1*A114V in the Turkish population. The Turkish population is genetically complex due to its demographic history and location near Central Asia, Europe, and the Middle East (Cinnioglu et al, ; Gokcumen et al, ; Mergen et al, ; Rootsi et al, ). As such, reference genetic data for the Turkish population are absolutely mandatory for assessing the reliability of genetic association studies conducted with this population.…”

The Year In Genetic Anthropology: New Lands, New Technologies, New Questions

“…In contrast to whole‐genome studies, those focusing on maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA or the paternally inherited non‐recombining region of the Y‐chromosome are limited in that they are equivalent to only a single mosaic piece, or locus, even though they can be very informative in studies investigating social organization, kinship connections, or sex‐specific migration patterns (Gokcumen et al. ; Kennett et al. ; Marchi et al.…”

Mobility and Ancient Society in Asia and the Americas

“…This work has involved populations from Turkey (Gokcumen et al 2011 ), the Caucasus (Sen et al 2014 ), Central Asia (Dulik et al 2011 ;Gokcumen et al 2008 ;Schurr and Pipes 2011 ), and the Altai-Sayan region ( Dulik et al 2012b ). In this chapter, I will review our work with indigenous groups from the Altai-Sayan region ( Fig.…”