Alexander Natanovich Bernshtam, "The History of the Kyrgyz and Kyrgyzstan from Ancient Times to the Mongol Conquest." Chapter II: The Origin of the Kyrgyz and the First Information About Their History.
“The earliest mention of the ethnonym 'Kyrgyz' is found in the Chinese text Shi Ji (Records of the Grand Historian), in the section that recounts the campaigns of the Hunnic Shanyu, Mao Dun. The text states: "Then in the north, they (the Huns) conquered the territories of Hunyu, Zuo-shi, Dingling, Gegun, and Tsaili.
As a result, the Hunnic elders (dachen) and nobles (guiren) obeyed Mao Dun, the Shanyu, and recognized him as wise.” Let’s now proceed to analyze the five ethnonyms, among which is the Chinese transcription of the term ‘Kyrgyz’.
The Hunyu tribes were presumably inhabitants of northern Mongolia, possibly Transbaikalia. Later, they are mentioned in the form of 'Hun' (undoubtedly connected with 'Hunyu') as one of the native tribes of the Hunnic union.
Phonetic analysis of the ethnonym 'Juimei' showed that the characters used to transcribe this name originally sounded like "Kyichak," which is undoubtedly the Chinese transcription of the Turkic ethnonym "Kipchak," who presumably lived near the Yenisei River, possibly in the Altai region. It is no coincidence that the ancient Kipchaks had, like the ancient Kyrgyz, common racial features that were always noticeable to medieval authors.
The situation of the "Sindi" is entirely unclear—they were presumably located somewhere near these tribes. Given what we know from other sources about the tribes in the Transbaikalia region during this period, it is more natural to assume that the "Sindi" were part of the tribes of Western Altai, possibly living along the Irtysh River. Let’s now analyze two more tribal names—Dinlin and Gegun.
What did the Chinese mean by the name Dinlin?
It seems that this term refers to all the northern tribes, among which were the Yenisei tribes. These are identified here as Gegun or Jiangkun. This name is a transcription of the ancient names of the Yenisei and Orkhon rivers. It is clear that this tribe inhabited the upper Yenisei, meaning it was the southernmost of the Yenisei tribes and, therefore, the closest and most familiar to the Huns.
Moreover, according to the same Chinese sources, the name Gegun likely referred to all the southern Dinlin tribes. The following curious fact supports this. In 99 BCE, the Hunnic Shanyu (prince) Jiudi-heu defeated the Chinese forces and captured the Chinese general Li Ling. After sparing him, "the Shanyu showed Li Ling due respect and married him to his daughter." According to another Chinese source, he was granted control over the territory of the Kyrgyz, referred to in the source as Khakas.
Regarding the precise location of this part of the Khakas territory, which was the residence of Li Ling, it is mentioned by his friend Sou-wu, who visited him at that time. Sou-wu reports that Li Ling lived on the shore of Lake Beihai. This is none other than the Chinese name for Lake Baikal (Beihai translates to "North Sea"). From this, it follows that Kyrgyz tribes were likely settled from the upper Yenisei, through Tuva, and up to Lake Baikal, with the Dinlins located to the north.
The aforementioned Gegun, like the Dinlins, were subjugated by the Huns. As a result of this purely political event, some very interesting ethnic developments occurred. The increased interaction between the Gegun and the Huns naturally disrupted endogamy, opening up all possibilities for marriages between ethnically different tribes. As a result, we observe the mixing of two different types, the description of which is uniquely recorded in Chinese sources.
They describe the Kyrgyz of the 6th-9th centuries as follows: "The people are generally tall, with reddish hair, rosy faces, and blue eyes. Some with black hair also had rosy faces and blue eyes. However, black hair was considered a bad sign, and those with brown eyes were believed to be descendants of Li Ling." This quoted passage is extremely interesting, as it suggests that old memories of endogamy still held strong significance if "black hair was considered a bad sign."
The explanation linking dark eyes to connections with Li Ling and his descendants is also notable. The issue is not that the Kyrgyz correctly understood this change in their appearance as the result of intermixing with other tribes (in both ethnic and racial terms). According to tradition, the Chinese attributed the change in racial type to Li Ling, but in reality, it reflects a large-scale intermixing of the Gegun (Kyrgyz) with Central Asian tribes. From the facts presented, it also follows that before their displacement, the Gegun were, at least racially, part of the Dinlin and did not differ culturally from them.
At the same time, by the end of the 3rd century BCE, they had already adopted an ethnonym distinct from that of the Dinlin, indicating that they were an independent tribe within the broader Dinlin tribal union at that time. From the period of their connections with the Huns, the Kyrgyz type increasingly stood out from the rest of the Dinlin tribes.
It seems that at the turn of the Common Era, there was a significant differentiation of the Kyrgyz tribes from the Dinlin substrate. This process, noted by Chinese sources, can be more closely traced through the monuments of material culture, particularly those of the so-called Tashtyk cultural stage.
The monuments of the Tashtyk transitional cultural stage are, according to archaeologists, the historical development of the Minusinsk burial mound culture and date back to the 2nd century BCE - 1st-2nd centuries CE. It is evident that these monuments should provide insight into the cultural state of the Kyrgyz during this period.
The monuments of the Tashtyk transitional stage are represented by large solitary burials in pits, almost invisible on the surface. The burial structures were arranged at depths of 1.5 to 4 meters and were well-constructed with logs or planks, sometimes even featuring wooden floors. The graves rarely contained more than one deceased, although occasionally up to three were buried together. A characteristic feature of the burials is the frequent presence of mummified bodies with plaster masks on their faces.
The masks were often painted. Next to the deceased were dolls made of leather, grass, and fabric, with the fabric often including Chinese silk. Also found near the deceased were ceramics, similar in manufacturing technique to those of the Minusinsk burial mounds, but featuring previously unknown arched and spiral ornaments.
Particularly notable are the numerous wooden items, which are especially well represented in the largest Tashtyk-type burial site, known as the Oglakhty burial ground. From the materials found there, it is possible to reconstruct certain aspects of the daily life of the ancient Kyrgyz.
During this period, agriculture reached its peak development, and livestock farming continued to play an important role, now based on a sedentary lifestyle.
The extensive burial fields, which suggest long-term habitation in the area, along with the log structures in the graves—apparently corresponding to log wooden buildings—support this sedentism. It is not surprising that a large number of millet grains and iron hoe tips were found.
Plow farming likely existed as well, at least in some limited forms. Sheep continued to dominate livestock farming. Wooden products overwhelmingly predominated in the production of tools, jewelry, and various household items. It is also important to note the appearance of iron stirrups and the widespread use of iron weapons.
The development of craftsmanship is clearly evidenced by the abundant finds of wooden, leather, and woolen items, as well as finely crafted plaster masks. The existence of regular trade exchanges is well documented.
Chinese mirrors, coins, and especially fabrics clearly confirm this. The plaster burial masks found here, as well as in later burials of the 3rd-5th centuries CE, are of outstanding interest. These masks were placed on the face of the deceased, presumably to preserve the portrait of the deceased. While early masks were molded directly onto the face, later so-called bust masks were sculpted freely and attached to pedestals.
The study of the masks revealed an interesting picture. The early masks, in terms of both coloration and facial features, represent a long-headed and fair-haired type, which corresponds closely to the craniological material from the Minusinsk burials, starting from the Afanasievo burials—in other words, they reproduce the Dingling type.
In contrast, the masks found in later burials reflect a mixed type that could be described as a Hunnic-Dingling blend. These findings, observed in materials from the Tashtyk period, suggest a process of mixing between different (at least two) cultures and racial types.
It is clear that this mixing process was triggered by the migration of Central Asian tribes into the Yenisei region, through which Chinese culture also spread.
Along with the Huns, the Xianbei also penetrated this area in the early centuries CE. This conclusion is based on the dating of the monuments and another seemingly minor detail.
In the Oglakhty burial ground, human hair braided into pigtails was found among both men and women. The custom of braiding hair into pigtails was known in Central Asia only among the Xianbei, from whom it later spread to China.
The Xianbei moved north between 147-156 CE, during which the Xianbei leader Tanshihuai "stopped the Dinlins," who were apparently attempting to enter the territory of the Huns after the fall of Hunnic power in Mongolia and their subsequent defeat by the Xianbei.
These braids, not only those cut from the head, were also found in the Noin-Ula (Shanyu burial—kurgan No. 6), where they were offerings from the Xianbei, who were then subordinate to the Huns. The braids found in the Oglakhty burial ground likely arrived there after the Yenisei tribes directly encountered the Xianbei, as the Huns themselves did not wear braids.
This episode, as mentioned earlier, relates to the mid-1st century CE. It is likely that the Oglakhty burial ground should also be dated to this period. The invasion of Hunnic, and later Xianbei, tribes into the land of the ancient Kyrgyz is likely responsible for the northward movement of the late Minusinsk kurgans into the Achinsk-Krasnoyarsk region.
It is quite natural that some of the Dingling tribes were forced to move north under the pressure of southern tribes. The Kyrgyz, however, remained in their original locations, as a few centuries later, we find their monuments along the Yenisei River and even further south, in Tuva. It is evident that they did not leave their lands and became integrated into the system of Central Asian states.
As a result, they lost their original racial type and altered the character of their culture. This is documented by the plaster masks and findings in the Tashtyk burial sites, particularly the Oglakhty burial ground.
The Dinlin who migrated north did not experience this mixing, and their ethnogenesis followed a different path, as evidenced by the Yenisei Ostyaks, who have preserved Dinlin features more than any other Siberian peoples. Through the mixing of the Jiangkun with the Central Asian tribes of the Huns and Xianbei, the Kyrgyz Turkic tribes eventually formed.
The monuments of the Tashtyk transitional stage, known mainly from the materials of the Oglakhty burial ground, have few connections with the preceding Minusinsk burial mound culture. The culture of the Oglakhty burial ground inherently grew from the development of the late Tagar culture but emerged under special conditions.
At the same time, the stone kurgans of the early Chaatas directly continue the line of development from the late Tagar culture. Here, the burial construction, inventory, and ceramics all have direct genetic links to the Tagar culture, just as the kurgans of the early Chaatas are connected to the kurgans of the Kyrgyz from the 6th-10th centuries.
Similar to the Tashtyk burials, the Chaatas display clear traces of Chinese cultural influence and, like the Oglakhty burials, contain masks that bear the features of a mixed anthropological type, predominantly Mongoloid. Just as in Oglakhty, the deceased, both men and women, had braids, and in one grave, a wooden figurine of a man with a braid was found.
The connection between the early Chaatas and the Tagar culture, and the similarity of these kurgans to those of Oglakhty in terms of inventory, suggest that the early Chaatas represent monuments of the local population during the period of their mixing with Central Asian entities.
The Oglakhty burial ground, and Tashtyk-type monuments in general, likely belong to the same time but are associated with an incoming population, most likely the Xianbei, who were mixing with the local population at that time. The result of this process was a mixed anthropological type, demonstrating the blending of Dinlin and Mongolian populations, which ultimately gave rise to the Turkic ethnic type of the ancient Kyrgyz.
We have limited data on the history of these intermixings, but for the 1st century BCE, we do have relatively concrete information on the subject. The significance of this information is heightened by the fact that, for the first time, we obtain material on the historical connections between the ancient Kyrgyz tribes and the territory of Northern Kyrgyzstan.
In 49 BCE, the Northern Hunnic Shanyu, Zhizhi, who refused to serve China, began campaigns with his troops against several northern tribes, including the Wusun, in an attempt to unite them under his rule.
According to Chinese sources, the campaign against the Wusun was triggered by the murder of Zhizhi Shanyu's envoy, whose head was sent to the Chinese governor. The envoy was supposed to deliver Zhizhi's proposal for a military alliance to a lesser leader of the Wusun, Wujut.
An 8,000-strong cavalry force of the Wusun did not save them from defeat at the hands of Zhizhi. After dealing with the Wusun, Zhizhi turned north (i.e., north of the Tian Shan), where he defeated the Uge (Uyghur) tribes. After subduing them, Zhizhi concluded his campaign with a war against the Dingling.
Zhizhi Shanyu's military successes strengthened the military power of the Northern Huns, who brought the Uge (Uyghurs), Gegun, and Dinlin troops under their control. Only after this did the Northern Huns begin their campaigns against the Wusun. Zhizhi established his base among the Jiangkun tribes, which, according to Chinese sources of that time, were located 7,000 li west (understood as northwest) of the Shanyu's main base (likely referring to the Shanyu's headquarters in Mongolia, in the Khangaï region) and 5,000 li north of the Cheshi tribes (Cheshi being in the eastern part of modern-day Xinjiang).
These coordinates do not point to the Yenisei but much farther west. To clarify the exact location of the Jiangkun tribes, among whom Zhizhi established his base, let's analyze his route. After defeating the Wusun, Zhizhi moved north. This suggests that from Northern Kyrgyzstan, he headed toward Lake Balkhash, where he defeated the Uge.
It seems that the Uge lived in the Ili Valley, in the Trans-Ili or Dzungarian Alatau. From the Uge tribe in the west, he defeated the Jiangkun forces. It is entirely clear that the Yenisei is not relevant here. It seems that this refers to the northern region of the Balkhash area.
The Dinlins, with whom Zhizhi ended his campaign, might have been the northern tribes of this region, as the Chinese typically referred to all tribes in the northern part of the Asian USSR as Dinlins. Therefore, this likely refers to a portion of the Kyrgyz who were situated in areas near the Tian Shan and its foothills.
Among these western Jiangkun tribes, Zhizhi established his base. From there, he launched his second campaign against the Wusun, moving southward. He advanced along the Talas River, aiming to secure the borders of the Kangju tribal confederation. The Kangju had summoned the Northern Huns, led by Zhizhi, to create a buffer between their lands and those of the Wusun.
Another significant detail is that when the Kangju sent an embassy to Zhizhi at his base among the Jiangkun, requesting assistance, Zhizhi agreed and "moved with his army westward to Kangju." Thus, Zhizhi Shanyu attacked the Wusun, advancing from the Jiangkun to the east.
This campaign, launched from the Jiangkun against the Wusun, indicates that the tribes of the ancient Kyrgyz were among his forces, reaching Northern Tian Shan and the Talas River. This campaign took place in the winter of 47-46 BCE. Afterward, Zhizhi Shanyu established his base in the upper Talas, where he was defeated in 36 BCE by the Chinese generals Chen Tang and Ganyanshou.
Therefore, 47 BCE marks the first indisputable date of the penetration of some Jiangkun tribes, along with the Northern Huns, into the Tian Shan region. These events led to the establishment of part of the Jiangkun in the west, as noted by a Chinese source from the first third of the 3rd century, Wei Liao. This account by Wei Liao, later repeated in the Chinese encyclopedia ‘Wen Xian Tong Kao’ by the well-known Chinese scholar Ma Duanlin, sparked significant debate among scholars, with some accepting and others rejecting the accuracy of this information.
However, the western location of some of the Jiangkun tribes, confirmed by two independent sources and repeated by Ma Duanlin, cannot be coincidental. This consistent indication, combined with the facts mentioned during the analysis of the Northern Huns' campaigns in 47 BCE, allows us to confidently suggest the presence of the Jiangkun somewhere in the Tian Shan region. It seems that they were not only present in the 1st century BCE but also persisted into the 3rd century, as Wei Liao, an independent source from Qian Hanshu, again mentions the western Jiangkun.
The facts presented allow us to draw two important conclusions for the history of the Kyrgyz and Kyrgyzstan. The first conclusion is that the Chinese chronicles depict a specific intermixing of the Jiangkun not only with the surrounding tribes but also with the Northern Huns.
The second conclusion, based on the same facts, clearly indicates the division of the ancient Kyrgyz into two branches: one larger branch remained in the Yenisei region (on which the Kyrgyz state of the 6th-10th centuries was founded), while the other settled in the regions near the Tian Shan, becoming the first group of Kyrgyz settlers in the territory of modern Kyrgyzstan.
The second conclusion holds great significance for the history of Kyrgyzstan as the homeland of the Kyrgyz people. This conclusion also explains the systematic connections that existed between the Yenisei Kyrgyz and the Tian Shan.
During the 3rd century BCE to the 1st century CE, in the era of the Huns and Xianbei, the southern part of the Jiangkun tribes, originating from the Dingling intermixed with Central Asian tribes. During this period, their culture, racial type, and probably their language changed, ultimately giving rise to the Turkic tribes of the Yenisei Kyrgyz by the 6th century.
This marked the end of the first stage of Kyrgyz ethnogenesis, which occurred under the conditions of the disintegration of the primitive communal system of the Dinlin tribal union and in connection with the barbarian military-democratic alliances of Central Asia.” - Alexander Nathanovich Bernshtam
🧬 DNA Science Data:
“Haplogroup R1a1, more specifically, its subclade R1a1a1b2 (defined by mutation Z93), is the genetic marker of the Indo-European pastoralists, who migrated from modern-day Ukraine to modern-day Iran, India, the Kazakh steppes, the Tarim Basin, the Altai Mountains region, the Yenisei River region, and western Mongolia during the Bronze Age.
Naturally, R1a1, more specifically, its subclade R1a1a1b2 (R1a-Z93), occurs at high frequency among the Turkic peoples now residing in the Yenisei River and the Altai Mountains regions in Russia.
Compared to the Tuvinians, the Khakass (whose name was created by the Soviets from Xiajiasi (黠戛斯), a Chinese name for Kyrgyz, since they were regarded as descending from the Kyrgyz have noticeably higher percentages of R1a1 (35.2%) and much lower percentages of haplogroups C (1.1%) and Q (4%). However, N is also the most prevalent haplogroup (50%) of the Khakass (Gubina et al. 2013: 339; Shi et al. 2013)
As for the Altaians, the Altai-Kizhi (southern Altaians) are characterised by a high percentage of R1a1 (50%) and low to moderate percentages of C2 (20%), Q (16.7%) and N (4.2%) (Dulik et al. 2012: 234).
The major differences between the Khakass and the southern Altaians are the lower frequency of haplogroup N (in another study, haplogroup N is found at high frequency (32%) among the Altaians in general: see Gubina et al. 2013: 329, 339) and the higher frequencies of haplogroups C2 and Q among the latter.
The descent of the Kyrgyz (Kyrgyz) of the Tien Shan Mountains region (Kyrgyzstan) from the Yenisei Kyrgyz is debated among historians.
However, among the modern Turkic peoples, the former have the highest percentage of R1a1 (over 60%). Since the West Eurasian physiognomy of the Yenisei Kyrgyz recorded in the Xin Tangshu was in all likelihood a reflection of their Eurasian Indo-European marker R1a1a1b2 (R1a-Z93), one may conjecture that the Tien Shan Kyrgyz received their R1a1 marker from the Yenisei Kyrgyz. That is, the former are descended from the latter.
The other Y-chromosome haplogroups found among the Kyrgyz (Kyrgyz) are C2 (12~20%), O (0~15%) and N (0~4.5%).50 The lack of haplogroup Q among the Qirghiz (Kyrgyz) mostly distinguishes them from the Altaians.
During the Bronze Age and early Iron Age, the Yenisei River region was inhabited by Indo-Europeans. The dna study of 26 ancient human specimens from the Krasnoyarsk area dated from the middle of the second millennium bc to the fourth century ad shows that the Yenisei pastoralists mostly belonged to haplogroup R1a1 (Keyser et al. 2009: 401)
The high frequency of R1a1 among the modern-day Kyrgyz and Altaians may thus prove that they are descended from the Yenisei Kyrgyz. In addition, this may explain the reason why medieval Chinese histories depict the Kyrgyz as possessing West Eurasian physiognomy.
The Y-chromosomes of the Kök Türks have not been studied. After the collapse of the Second Türk Khaganate in 745 ce, the Kök Türks became dispersed and it is difficult to identify their modern descendants.
If they were indeed descended from the Eastern Scythians aka Saka (Suo) or related to the Kyrgyz, as the Zhoushu states (Zhoushu 50.908), the Ashina (royal Türkic dynasty, possibly related to the Turko-Jewish Khazar Khaganate, according to Peter B. Golden of Rutgers University) may have belonged to the R1a1 lineage.” - Joo-Yup Lee and Shuntu Kuang, University of Toronto, Canada
Source: “A Comparative Analysis of Chinese Historical Sources and Y-DNA Studies with Regard to the Early and Medieval Turkic Peoples’
Authors: Joo-Yup Lee and Shuntu Kuang from, the University of Toronto of Canada
“Kyrgyz are an admixed population between the East and the West. Different patterns have been observed in the patrilineal gene pool of the Kyrgyz. Historically, ancient Kyrgyz were considered to be the Yenisei Kyrgyz that may perhaps be concerned with the Tashtyk culture.
Extremely low Y-diversity and the presence of a high-frequency 68.9% Y-chromosome haplogroup R1a1-M17 (a diagnostic Indo-Iranian marker are striking features of Kyrgyz populations in central Asia. It is believed that this lineage is associated with Indo-Europeans who migrated to the Altai region during the Bronze Age and mixed with various Turkic groups.
Among the Asian R1a1a1b2-Z93 lineages, R1a1a1b2a2-Z2125 is quite common in Kyrgyzstan (68%) and Afghan Pashtuns (40%), and less frequent in other Afghan ethnic groups and some Caucasus and Iran populations (10%). Notably, the basal lineage R1a1a1b2-Z93* is commonly distributed in the South Siberian Altai region of Russia.
According to the published ancient DNA data, we found that, in Middle Bronze Age, Haplogroup R1a1a1b2a2a- Z2125 was mainly found in Sintashta culture population from Kamennyi Ambar 5 cemetery, western Siberia, in Fedorovo type of the Andronovo culture or Karasuk culture population from Minusinsk Basin, southern Siberia, and in Andronovo culture populations from Maitan, Ak-Moustafa, Aktogai, Kazakh Mys, Satan, Oy-Dzhaylau III, Karagash 2, Dali, and Zevakinskiy stone fence, Kazakhstan.” (Wen, Shao-qing; Du, Pan-xin; Sun, Chang; Cui, Wei; Xu, Yi-ran; Meng, Hai-liang; Shi, Mei-sen; Zhu, Bo-feng; Li, Hui (March 2022)
Source: "Dual origins of the Northwest Chinese Kyrgyz: the admixture of Bronze age Siberian and Medieval Niru'un Mongolian Y chromosomes", Nature
Authors: Wen, Shao-qing; Du, Pan-xin; Sun, Chang; Cui, Wei; Xu, Yi-ran; Meng, Hai-liang; Shi, Mei-sen; Zhu, Bo-feng; Li, Hui (March 2022)
“The modern-day descendants of the Yenisei Kyrgyz, the Kyrgyz people, have one of the highest frequencies of haplogroup R1a-Z93. This lineage believed to be associated with Indo-Iranians who migrated to the Altai region in the Bronze Age, and is carried by various Türkic groups. The Zhoushu [the book of the Zhou Dynasty] (Linghu Defen 2003, Chapter 50, p. 908) informs us that the Ashina, the royal clan of the Kök Türks, were related to the Kyrgyz.
If so, the Ashina may have belonged to the R1a1 lineage like the modern-day Tienshan Kyrgyz, who are characterised by the high frequency of R1a1 (over 65%). Haplogroup R1a1, more specifically, its sub- clade R1a1a1b2 defined by mutation Z93, was carried by the Indo-European pastoralists, who reached the Kazakh steppes, the Tarim Basin, the Altai Mountains region, the Yenisei River region, and western Mongolia from the Black Sea steppes during the Bronze Age (Semino et al. 2000, p. 1156, Lee, Joo-Yup (2018)
Source: Lee, Joo-Yup (2018). "Some remarks on the Turkicisation of the Mongols in post-Mongol Central Asia and the Kipchak Steppe ''. Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae. 71 (2): 121–124. doi:10.1556/062.2018.71.2.1. ISSN 0001-6446. S2CID 133847698.
Kazakh DNA researcher Zhaxylyk Sabitov states: “Until the 9th century, the Kyrgyz lived along the Yenisei River in the Minusinsk Basin. In the 9th century, the Yenisei Kyrgyz migrated to the Altai and Irtysh regions.
“From 1326 to 1329, some Altai Kyrgyz moved to Semirechye and the territory of modern Kyrgyzstan.” He also published DNA sample data from the Sintashta culture, which he claims “is related to the Altai and modern Kyrgyz, while the Arban-1 samples from the Karasuk culture are ancestral to modern Kyrgyz. Genetic data from Arzhan complex (8th century BCE) also show parental genes of the Kyrgyz.”
It is known that the structure of Arzhan has similarities with the Sintashta-Andronovo kurgans (M.P. Gryaznov). It is known that Saka tribes lived in the territory of Kyrgyzstan, and later the Wusun tribe arrived from the east. The high percentage of R1a1 among the Kyrgyz appeared through three routes: from the Saka tribes, from the Wusun Sakas, and from the Dingling tribes. There is also a theory about the migration of part of the Yenisei Kyrgyz to the territory of modern Kyrgyzstan.” (Zhaxylyk Sabitov)
Source: “Historical-Genetic Approach in the Study of the Ethnogenesis and Material Culture of the Ancient Kyrgyz” - International Journal of Experimental Education
“The land of Modern Kyrgyzstan, populated at the turn of the eras by the Saka and Wusun tribes, was overrun by the Yenisei Kyrgyzes (Khakasses) in the 8th c. AD.
Since Kyrgyzstan is a natural mountain fortress of the Tian Shan mountains, it is an island similar to the Lithuanian Tatars, with high genetic inertia and limited influences. Essentially, all four are Scythians, the Saka Scythians, Wusun Scythians, Yenisei Kyrgyz Scythians, and the Lithuanian Tatar Scythians.”
Source: “The Lithuanian Tatars: DNA Ancestry Traced To The Eurasian Steppes”, Academy of DNA-Genealogy, Tsukuba, Japan, Igor Rozhanski
"Samples from the burials of the Andronovo, Tagar, and Tashtyk cultures were identified using Y-STR analysis, which allows for the comparison of these samples with each other and with samples from representatives of different populations, both ancient and modern.
The Andronovo haplotypes S10 and S16 have the following structure:
ANDRON S10, S16:
13-25-16-11-11-14-10-14-11-18-15-14-11-16-20-12-23
The greatest number of matches is observed with the Tian Shan Kyrgyz and the Southern Altaians. Complete matches of haplotypes in populations that are geographically close and share a common history are possible only in cases of genetic relationship; random matches are unlikely.
Thus, the Southern Altaians and the Tien Shan Kyrgyz are likely descendants of close relatives of the Yenisei Andronovites, most likely the descendants of the Altai Andronovites. It is well established by linguists and ethnographers that there is close linguistic and ethnic kinship between the Kyrgyz and the Southern Altaians (Baskakov, 1966: 15-16).
These peoples share the same names for their clan divisions (Mundus, Telos-Doolos, Kipchak, Naiman, Merkit, etc.). Kyrgyz legends refer to Altai as the ancestral home of their people. Several historians believe that the Kyrgyz and Southern Altaians once formed a single community and that the migration of the Kyrgyz from Altai to Tien Shan occurred relatively recently (Abramzon, 1959: 34; Abdumanapov, 2007: 95, 114).
Source: Volkov V.G., Kharkov V.N., Stepanov V.A. Andronovo and Tagar cultures in light of genetic data."
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