The DNA of Kurdistan

[unitedkurdistan]

As Kurdistan forges a new future as an emerging democracy, a major project to unearth the past of its people is underway. And the University of Huddersfield’s expertise in the analysis of ancient DNA samples is playing a crucial role.

Soran University in Kurdistan – which is a now a self-governing, democratic region – has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Huddersfield, home to laboratories and a team of researchers headed by Professor Martin Richards. He is acknowledged as a global leader in the science of archaeogenetics, which combines archaeology and DNA analysis in order to learn more about prehistoric peoples and how they migrated around the world.

The research project initiated by Soran University is named “Genetic Ancestry of Kurdish Populations”. PhD and Masters students are being recruited and research will be split between Kurdistan itself and the University of Huddersfield’s state-of-the-art laboratories.

DNA will be extracted from hundreds of samples collected from across Kurdistan and genetic sequencing will be used to gain a greater understanding of the origins of the Kurds, who have had a turbulent history.

Representatives of Soran University visited Huddersfield last year, and there was a reciprocal visit by a party from Huddersfield, who discussed areas of research collaboration. The genetic ancestry project was settled on, and Professor Andrew Ball, who is the University of Huddersfield Pro-Vice Chancellor for research and enterprise, visited Kurdistan to sign the MoU. Professor Richards has also visited Kurdistan in February this year to discuss the project and plans are now underway to recruit students and begin the sampling.

“This project is a great departure for us and enormously exciting,” says Professor Richards. “Kurdistan is archaeologically one of the most fascinating regions in the world – it was inhabited first by Neanderthals, escaping from Europe’s cold during the Ice Age, and soon after by modern humans as they came north from their African homeland about fifty thousand years ago.

“Not only that, but it was quite possibly the place where people first took up farming, almost twelve thousand years ago. We’re hoping that this work will help us to see if there are traces of those early settlements in the genetic make-up of the modern-day populations of the region.”

[jjmuneer]

Finally, though I've already been tested myself. Anyways it would be great to display the results here if you could, or atleast tell me where they will be.

[Zert]

Quite some Kurds have been tested already. Although this sounds very exciting, I'm not sure if we'll discover a lot more about our genetics. We've got a pretty good idea of what the average Kurd is like, and outside the Jewish Kurds, pretty much all Kurdish groups have at least one member tested.

I welcome this project of course, I hope it won't be too long 'till the results come out.

[burnsss]

Finally, though I've already been tested myself. Anyways it would be great to display the results here if you could, or atleast tell me where they will be.

What did you test reveal? What haplogroup did you belong to? I would like to test myself but its to expensive 200-400 dollars.

[Cewlik]

I would like to test myself but its to expensive 200-400 dollars.

What do you expect from such a test? I think this is absurd.

[Zert]

Finally, though I've already been tested myself. Anyways it would be great to display the results here if you could, or atleast tell me where they will be.

What did you test reveal? What haplogroup did you belong to? I would like to test myself but its to expensive 200-400 dollars.

Check the link in my sig please, the blog is made by a Kurdish scientist who has put together quite some information of the tested Kurdish individuals.

Here's how Kurds compare to other groups:
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=nl&p ... 64571b68c5

In a cluster map:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MgXy9KdriA4/T ... 00/1_2.png
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UCP5T1pduGU/T ... 00/1_2.png

By numbers:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc ... EYlE#gid=0

[burnsss]

Finally, though I've already been tested myself. Anyways it would be great to display the results here if you could, or atleast tell me where they will be.

What did you test reveal? What haplogroup did you belong to? I would like to test myself but its to expensive 200-400 dollars.

Check the link in my sig please, the blog is made by a Kurdish scientist who has put together quite some information of the tested Kurdish individuals.

Here's how Kurds compare to other groups:
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=nl&p ... 64571b68c5

In a cluster map:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MgXy9KdriA4/T ... 00/1_2.png
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UCP5T1pduGU/T ... 00/1_2.png

By numbers:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc ... EYlE#gid=0

Could you explain those? Which groups are we closest realted to? Azeri georgian and iranian?

[Cewlik]

Finally, though I've already been tested myself. Anyways it would be great to display the results here if you could, or atleast tell me where they will be.

What did you test reveal? What haplogroup did you belong to? I would like to test myself but its to expensive 200-400 dollars.

Check the link in my sig please, the blog is made by a Kurdish scientist who has put together quite some information of the tested Kurdish individuals.

Here's how Kurds compare to other groups:
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=nl&p ... 64571b68c5

In a cluster map:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MgXy9KdriA4/T ... 00/1_2.png
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UCP5T1pduGU/T ... 00/1_2.png

By numbers:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc ... EYlE#gid=0

Do you think I'm interested in such thinks? Not our DNA make us to Kurds, our history, language and culture make us to Kurds.

[Zert]

Could you explain those? Which groups are we closest realted to? Azeri georgian and iranian?

We're most closely related to other Iranics. There haven't been a lot of Azeris tested yet, but I can imagine at least the Iranian Azeris to be quite closely related.
According to Dodecad Oracle:
[1,] "Kurd_D" "0"
[2,] "Kurds_Y" "2.5573"
[3,] "Iranian_D" "3.8613"
[4,] "Iranians" "7.4243"
[5,] "Uzbekistan_Jews" "11.0268"
[6,] "Iranian_Jews" "16.1601"
[7,] "Turks" "16.4499"
[8,] "Assyrian_D" "16.9499"
[9,] "Azerbaijan_Jews" "17.0364"
[10,] "Iraq_Jews" "18.3366"

I have no idea what Uzbekistani Jews are doing there though.

Anyway, Kurds test as mostly native with a significant Iranic input.

Do you think I'm interested in such thinks? Not our DNA make us to Kurds, our history, language and culture make us to Kurds.

Did I ask you whether you were?

[jjmuneer]

Finally, though I've already been tested myself. Anyways it would be great to display the results here if you could, or atleast tell me where they will be.

What did you test reveal? What haplogroup did you belong to? I would like to test myself but its to expensive 200-400 dollars.

I got J1*. Another Fayli Kurd was tested, he was also from my tribe he got J1* aswell. He scored 99% euro and 1% asian. I think he clustered near Southern Euros.

[jjmuneer]

Quite some Kurds have been tested already. Although this sounds very exciting, I'm not sure if we'll discover a lot more about our genetics. We've got a pretty good idea of what the average Kurd is like, and outside the Jewish Kurds, pretty much all Kurdish groups have at least one member tested.

I welcome this project of course, I hope it won't be too long 'till the results come out.

Zert the problem with our samply on the blogspot is it is very small. Although if you compare it to the Europedia samples, it is actually quite similar. Still I think a bigger sample will equal a more reliable study. I think if more people from my tribe or clan were studied they would get different results. Though I'm not sure.

[Kurdistano]

Quite some Kurds have been tested already. Although this sounds very exciting, I'm not sure if we'll discover a lot more about our genetics. We've got a pretty good idea of what the average Kurd is like, and outside the Jewish Kurds, pretty much all Kurdish groups have at least one member tested.

I welcome this project of course, I hope it won't be too long 'till the results come out.

Thats not true my dear friend. I am sure we will discover more than enough. We do not have a single Sunni Kurdish individual from North or West Kurdistan tested so far. Just a handful Kurds from Eastern and South Kurdistan plus some Alevi Kurdish individuals.

I hope they will test throughout Kurdistan of all parts and not only South.

[Zert]

Zert the problem with our samply on the blogspot is it is very small. Although if you compare it to the Europedia samples, it is actually quite similar. Still I think a bigger sample will equal a more reliable study. I think if more people from my tribe or clan were studied they would get different results. Though I'm not sure.

Well, yeah, but if you compare with some other ethnic groups we've got quite a lot of tested individuals, but indeed, the more, the merrier.

Thats not true my dear friend. I am sure we will discover more than enough. We do not have a single Sunni Kurdish individual from North or West Kurdistan tested so far. Just a handful Kurds from Eastern and South Kurdistan plus some Alevi Kurdish individuals.

I hope they will test throughout Kurdistan of all parts and not only South.

Yeah, fair enough. I would especially like Kurds from Hakkari and Shernakh to be tested. The reason for this is that most Alevi Kurds have oral histories about descendancy from Khorasan, which would make them the descendants from Eastern Kurdish tribes which were deported Khorasan by the Safavids, and therefore they test quite 'Iranic'.

Now, areas like Shernakh and Hakkari were the main dwelling places of the Carduchians. They are often considered the ancestors of the Kurds, at least etymological. Now, if my theory is correct, they were, at the time of their attestation, recently linguistically Iranicized Hurrians. If the Kurds of those regions are indeed Carduchian-descended, they should test more native, and less Iranic.

Why I think Carduchians were linguistically Iranicized Hurrians and not a true Iranic tribe:
-they were able to converse with Persians (Iranic);
-they revered Teshub (Hurrian deity);
-they were mentioned seperately from the neighbouring Iranic tribes (Medes, Scythians);
-they show similarities to Gutians (etymologically and characteristically), a Hurrian-affiliated people.

[Kurdistano]

Zert the problem with our samply on the blogspot is it is very small. Although if you compare it to the Europedia samples, it is actually quite similar. Still I think a bigger sample will equal a more reliable study. I think if more people from my tribe or clan were studied they would get different results. Though I'm not sure.

Well, yeah, but if you compare with some other ethnic groups we've got quite a lot of tested individuals, but indeed, the more, the merrier.

No, bro in contrary we are one of the least tested groups so far. In ftDNA Armenians are the most tested ones I have seen. Also in 23andme Turks, Iranians, Asssyrians are by far "overtested" compared to the 10-20 Kurdish individuals.

[Kurdistano]

Yeah, fair enough. I would especially like Kurds from Hakkari and Shernakh to be tested. The reason for this is that most Alevi Kurds have oral histories about descendancy from Khorasan, which would make them the descendants from Eastern Kurdish tribes which were deported Khorasan by the Safavids, and therefore they test quite 'Iranic'.

Now, areas like Shernakh and Hakkari were the main dwelling places of the Carduchians. They are often considered the ancestors of the Kurds, at least etymological. Now, if my theory is correct, they were, at the time of their attestation, recently linguistically Iranicized Hurrians. If the Kurds of those regions are indeed Carduchian-descended, they should test more native, and less Iranic.

Why I think Carduchians were linguistically Iranicized Hurrians and not a true Iranic tribe:
-they were able to converse with Persians (Iranic);
-they revered Teshub (Hurrian deity);
-they were mentioned seperately from the neighbouring Iranic tribes (Medes, Scythians);
-they show similarities to Gutians (etymologically and characteristically), a Hurrian-affiliated people.

Good observation thats exactly the reason why I want some Sunni Kurds from North to be tested because most Alevi Kurds have oral stories about coming from Khorasan, And this Khorasani Kurds are displaced Kurds from Urmiya. And interestingly most tested Alevi Kurdish individuals are placed somewhere in Northwest Iran.

Something to add. The Carduchois lived throughout North Kurdistan, but only Sernak, Hakkari and Mardin where under their control. Carduchois used to worship the sky, the woods and Teshub (the sun). Carduchois where more likely a mix between Hurrian-Gutian and Scythic tribes. in Hakkari (Botan) and Badinan they found old stelae similar to those in Ukraine.