Caucasian Alans on G25

[axlredneck]

Regarding the language spoken by the Koban culture, I think they were Svan (or a closely related Kartvelian dialect) speaking people.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svans
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svan_language

[Dantevici]

Distance to: me_scaled
0.05484635 RUS_Alan_MA
0.09624280 pre-Sarmatian
0.10925666 Crimean
0.10930448 Koban
0.12850277 Sarmatian
6.13411274 Noise

Target: me_scaled
Distance: 4.0928% / 0.04092792
39.0 Crimean
38.2 Sarmatian
13.0 pre-Sarmatian
9.6 RUS_Alan_MA
0.2 Koban

[Annihilus]

Target: annihilus_v2_scaled
Distance: 2.4811% / 0.02481082
49.2 Crimean
30.4 RUS_Alan_MA
20.4 Sarmatian

[axlredneck]

This is important! The Caucasus of antiquity and early medieval times had significant Anatolian ancestry, stemming from both Anatolia proper and Crimea, which was settled by Hellenized Carians in the Iron Ages.

Upcoming paper with 200 ancient DNA samples from Georgia by the Max Planck Institute (Skourtanioti)

Some key points that can be inferred from the abstract:

1. 200 new ancient genomes from Georgia spanning Early Bronze Age to Early Middle Ages (roughly, 3500 BCE to 1000 CE).
2. "Remarkably high degree of genetic continuity" from the Bronze Age until the Christianisation of Georgia.
3. Between the early Christianisation period and the Early Middle Ages, "gene flow from Anatolia" was identified.
4. During the same time, "individuals of Central Asian origin" were observed, although they do not appear to have significantly changed the genepool.
5. Most of the artificially elongated skulls they examined belonged to "individuals of local ancestry", i.e. those of ethnic Georgian ancestry.

The research was presented at a conference in Estonia last September, and is presumably awaiting publication.

[Leto]

Upcoming paper with 200 ancient DNA samples from Georgia by the Max Planck Institute (Skourtanioti)

Some key points that can be inferred from the abstract:


The research was presented at a conference in Estonia last September, and is presumably awaiting publication.

Interesting but nothing particularly groundbreaking. Some gene flow from Asia Minor and Armenia is totally plausible. I would even expect some Iranian influence as well. And Central Asian admixture is next to undetectable in modern Georgians. Sometimes they do score like 1-2% Siberian on Gedmatch but that may not even be real because Central or Southern Europeans get that as well once in a while.

[Frowning Man]

Target: Rati_scaled
Distance: 2.4401% / 0.02440110
98.8 Koban
1.2 pre-Sarmatian

Distance to: Rati_scaled
0.02443467 Koban
0.03761029 pre-Sarmatian
0.08519620 RUS_Alan_MA
0.12081265 Crimean
0.20540396 Sarmatian
6.14948665 Noise

[Frowning Man]

Regarding the language spoken by the Koban culture, I think they were Svan (or a closely related Kartvelian dialect) speaking people.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svans
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svan_language

There is also a theory that they spoke Mingrelian. Since the entire west of Georgia (plain), up to the eastern borders of Imereti, was Mingrelian-speaking. The Koban culture is very similar to the Colchis culture and is considered by some to be a continuation of the Colchis culture. The same Koban axes are exactly the same as Colchian axes. There is a theory about the resettlement of the Colchians (Mingrelian-speaking) in the territory of Daryal and their bringing of Colchian elements and that they left their tribal names there. For example, the old tribes that lived in the mountains near Daryal, according to Ossetian legends, are Argi, Dvals and Tsartsyats (Tsanars among Georgians).
Arg - is the root of the tribal self-name of Mingrelians. There are a lot of places in Georgia with the Arg root, as a memory of the old Colchian population.
Gamrikeli considered the Dvalovs Mingrelian-speaking.
Tsanar - Tsan, the root of the self-name of the Colchian tribes - Tsan, Zan, Chan, San.

[Impaler]

Distance to: Father
0.06630432 RUS_Alan_MA
0.10901763 Crimean
0.10997630 pre-Sarmatian
0.12352433 Sarmatian
0.12546317 Koban
6.13490184 Noise

Target: Father
Distance: 3.6146% / 0.03614558
53.4 Crimean
46.6 Sarmatian

[axlredneck]

There is also a theory that they spoke Mingrelian. Since the entire west of Georgia (plain), up to the eastern borders of Imereti, was Mingrelian-speaking. The Koban culture is very similar to the Colchis culture and is considered by some to be a continuation of the Colchis culture. The same Koban axes are exactly the same as Colchian axes. There is a theory about the resettlement of the Colchians (Mingrelian-speaking) in the territory of Daryal and their bringing of Colchian elements and that they left their tribal names there. For example, the old tribes that lived in the mountains near Daryal, according to Ossetian legends, are Argi, Dvals and Tsartsyats (Tsanars among Georgians).
Arg - is the root of the tribal self-name of Mingrelians. There are a lot of places in Georgia with the Arg root, as a memory of the old Colchian population.
Gamrikeli considered the Dvalovs Mingrelian-speaking.
Tsanar - Tsan, the root of the self-name of the Colchian tribes - Tsan, Zan, Chan, San.

Plausible!

[axlredneck]

Target: Rati_scaled
Distance: 2.4401% / 0.02440110
98.8 Koban
1.2 pre-Sarmatian

Distance to: Rati_scaled
0.02443467 Koban
0.03761029 pre-Sarmatian
0.08519620 RUS_Alan_MA
0.12081265 Crimean
0.20540396 Sarmatian
6.14948665 Noise

Do you mind sharing your coordinates here or in a PM?