Ancient genomes from eastern Kazakhstan reveal dynamic genetic legacy of Inner Eurasian hunter-gatherers
Gill H. Seidualy M. Lee J. Lee J. Moon H. Walter A. Bianco R.A. Kurmangaliev A. Rakhmankulov E. Samashev Z. Aitkali A. Kiyasbek G. Tashmanbetova Z. Zhuniskhanov A. Krause J. Hermes T. Zhabagin M. Dupuy P.D. Warinner C. Jeong C.
15 October 2025American Association for the Advancement of Science
Science Advances
2025#11Issue 421 - 17 pp.
Because of limited availability of ancient genomes, the genetic history of prehistoric Inner Asian hunter-gatherers remains incomplete, especially for eastern Kazakhstan where the Eurasian Steppe meets mountain forests of Inner Asia. Here we report genome-wide data of two Early Neolithic (EN) hunter-gatherers and 19 Middle-Late Bronze Age (MLBA) pastoralists, from the site of Koken in the Upper Irtysh River region in eastern Kazakhstan. We find that the two EN individuals differed in their genetic profiles and yet were second-degree relatives. They were genetically most similar to subsequent Neolithic individuals in the Irtysh region, while contemporaneous hunter-gatherers from the Tobol-Ishim and Upper Ob River regions had distinct genetic profiles, likely influenced by riverine geography. The Koken MLBA individuals were genetically similar to other MLBA steppe pastoralists, while genetic outliers provide evidence of two distinct trajectories of admixture with local hunter-gatherer populations. These findings illuminate the dynamic population structure of Inner Asian hunter-gatherers and their genetic legacy in subsequent pastoralist populations.
Text of the article Перейти на текст статьи
School of Biological Sciences, Seoul national University, Seoul, 08826, South Korea
Institute for data innovation in Science, Seoul national University, Seoul, 08826, South Korea
National center for Biotechnology, Astana, 010000, Kazakhstan
School of Sciences and humanities, Nazarbayev University, Astana, 010000, Kazakhstan
Department of Anthropology, University of texas at Austin, Austin, 78712, TX, United States
Max Planck institute for evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, 04103, Germany
National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Astana, 010000, Kazakhstan
State historical and cultural Museum-Reserve “Bozok, ” Astana, 010000, Kazakhstan
Margulan institute of Archaeology, Almaty, 050000, Kazakhstan
Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. louis, St. Louis, 63130, MO, United States
Department of Anthropology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, 72701, AR, United States
Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, Cambridge, 02138, MA, United States
School of Biological Sciences
Institute for data innovation in Science
National center for Biotechnology
School of Sciences and humanities
Department of Anthropology
Max Planck institute for evolutionary Anthropology
National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan
State historical and cultural Museum-Reserve “Bozok
Margulan institute of Archaeology
Department of Anthropology
Department of Anthropology
Department of Anthropology
10 лет помогаем публиковать статьи Международный издатель
Книга Публикация научной статьи Волощук 2026 Book Publication of a scientific article 2026