MAIASP. 2025. No. 19 E.V. Vdovchenkov (Rostov-on-Don, Russia), O.Yu. Aramova (Rostov-on-Don, Russia), S.S. Vostrikov (Rostov-on-Don, Russia), O.V. Shamrai (Rostov-on-Don, Russia), Ji Eun Lee (Gyeongju, Korea), I. V. Kornienko (Rostov-on-Don, Russia) PALEOGENETIC STUDY OF THE POPULATION OF THE SARMATIAN CULTURE IN THE TERRITORY OF THE LOWER DON (BASED ON MATERIALS OF THE CHERKASOV BURIAL GROUND) The aim of the study is a comprehensive paleogenetic characterization of individuals from the Cherkasov burial mound (1st — 3rd centuries CE) located in the Lower Don region. Historically, the Sarmatians are considered to be Iranian-speaking nomads, whose cultural world is traditionally associated with the western part of the Eurasian steppes. However, written sources and individual archaeological finds indicate their possible connections with the nomadic peoples of Central Asia and Southern Siberia, which makes the issue of the genetic origin and structure of the Sarmatian populations a subject of scientific debate. Paleogenetic analysis of the studied group showed the dominance of the East Eurasian genetic component, which is confirmed by the features of polymorphisms of both mitochondrial DNA (matrilineage) and the Y chromosome (patrilineage). Analysis of autosomal STR markers complemented this picture, revealing alleles of both European and Asian origin. The key result of this analysis was the establishment of a close relationship between two individuals in mound 3 of the Cherkasov IX burial ground. Key words: Middle Sarmatian culture, Late Sarmatian culture, ancient DNA, Sarmatians, haplotypes, mitochondrial DNA, polymorphic genetic markers, Lower Don. |