Genetic Composition of the Tagar Culture Population: Current State and Research Prospects

Despite the high degree of archaeological and anthropological research of the Tagar culture and its carriers, many directions of study of this Sothern Siberian Iron Age population remain relevant. This work is devoted to the consideration of the data on the genetic composition of the Tagar culture population, obtained to date by paleogenetic methods. The study of representative mtDNA sample series from chronologically different groups of the Tagar population (N = 79), carried out by the authors of this work, allow us to obtain the first objective view on the composition of its mitochondrial gene pool. The obtained results illustrate well the significance of analysis of representative sample series when performing paleogenetic reconstructions. The general Tagar population is characterized by the presence in the gene pool of both Western Eurasian (H, HV6, HV*, I, K, T, U2e, U4, U5a, and U*) and Eastern Eurasian (A*, A8, C*, C5, D, G2a, F1b) mtDNA haplogroups. Unlike other populations of southern Siberia of the Scythian time, Western Eurasian variants dominate in the Tagar gene pool. Among the previous populations, the Tagar population demonstrates affinity with the populations of the Minusinsk Basin of the Middle Bronze Age. When compared with the groups of early nomads of Eurasia, the Tagar population shows a similarity in terms of the mtDNA variability with the carriers of other cultures of the Scythian circle, occupying an intermediate position between the geographically distant Scythians of the Northern Black Sea region and the population of the south Siberian cultures, Pazyryk and Aldy-Bel. During the transition from the Podgorny to the Saragashen stages, the Tagar population converges with other groups of early nomads of southern Siberia. In the Tagar gene pool of the Y chromosome, the dominance of variants of the R1a1a haplogroup was revealed. This genetic cluster was first introduced into the Minusinsk Basin by the carriers of the Andronovo (Fedorovo) culture. However, additional in-depth analysis of the Tagar Y chromosome lineages is required to clarify their origin. The paper presents the most promising directions for further research of the Tagar populations using paleogenetic methods.