Project Members
Michael Hammer, Principal Investigator
Tatiana Karafet, EEB, University of Arizona
Ludmila Osipova, Institute of Cytology and Genetics,
Novosibirsk, Russia
Micala Rider, Anthropology, University of Arizona
Daniel
Teberg, University of Arizona
Stephen Zegura, Anthropology, University of Arizona
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The Genetic History and
Structure of Siberian Native Populations
Siberia is among the few places in the world where most people lived a foraging lifestyle (at least until recently). Siberia's economic and cultural patterns have links traceable to Paleolithic and Neolithic subsistence strategies, and traditional Siberian lifeways reflect common features of a hunter-gatherer existence throughout much of the Arctic and sub-Arctic ecosystems.
Today 31 different ethnohistoric/linguistic groups are indigenous to Siberia. Although differing in their origin, language, and culture, most native Siberian populations share common types of economic activities such as hunting, fishing, reindeer breeding, and cattle herding. These traditional occupations are closely linked to their nomadic and semi-nomadic ways of life. In addition, most Siberian indigenous groups are characterized by a number of common socio-cultural features such as clan structure, polygamous marriages, the levirate (the compulsory marriage of a widow to a younger brother of her deceased husband), high levels of endogamy, and low rates of intermarriage with non-native peoples.
Our collaborative project involves research teams in Arizona and Novosibirsk and native populations from many parts of Siberia. We are gathering genetic data to address a number of hypotheses regarding the chronology of the initial peopling of northern Asia , the origins and migrational patterns of local prehistoric cultures, and the early peopling of the New World and Japan .
In particular, we are
- Performing surveys of DNA sequence and microsatellite variation in native Siberian populations,
- Reconstructing the genetic,
- Assessing the genetic impact of geographic and linguistic boundaries, and
- Inferring the relative role of different evolutionary forces shaping patterns of variation in Siberia.
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