Herodotus' theory on Armenian origins debunked by first whole-genome study

By Free Republic | Created at 2024-11-26 17:17:14 | Updated at 2024-11-28 10:43:09 1 day ago

Herodotus' theory on Armenian origins debunked by first whole-genome study
Phys dot org ^ | November 25, 2024 | Trinity College Dublin

Posted on 11/26/2024 8:09:46 AM PST by SunkenCiv

Armenians, a population in Western Asia historically inhabiting the Armenian highlands, were long believed to be descendants of Phrygian settlers from the Balkans. This theory originated largely from the accounts of the Greek historian Herodotus, who observed that Armenians were armed in Phrygian fashion when serving in the Persian army. Linguists further supported this theory, suggesting that the Armenian language shares ties with the Thraco-Phrygian subgroup of Indo-European languages.

But the first whole-genome study challenges this long-held belief, revealing no significant genetic link between Armenians and the populations in the Balkan region. The study compares newly generated modern Armenian genomes and published genetic data of ancient individuals from the Armenian highlands with both modern and ancient genomes from the Balkans...

The researchers behind the new study also disproved another belief—claims of an Assyrian ancestry for the Sasun, an Armenian population that inhabited the southern part of the Armenian highlands (modern-day southeastern Turkey). This connection had been referenced in many historical sources, including the Bible, in cuneiform texts, and local traditional stories. Instead, they found that the Sasun had experienced a significant contraction in size in the recent past, which sets them apart from other populations...

Researchers also shed light on the population structure and genetic variation of different Armenian groups, finding that populations from the eastern, western, and central parts of the Armenian highlands show a relatively high level of similarity.

['Civ: Huh?]

(Excerpt) Read more at phys.org ...

TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: armenia; assyrians; balkans; epigraphyandlanguage; godsgravesglyphs; greeks; helixmakemineadouble; herodotus; phrygians; sasun; thrace; trinitycollegedublin

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1 posted on 11/26/2024 8:09:46 AM PST by SunkenCiv

To: 75thOVI; Abathar; agrace; aimhigh; Alice in Wonderland; AnalogReigns; AndrewC; aragorn; ...

2 posted on 11/26/2024 8:10:40 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)

To: StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 21twelve; 24Karet; 2ndDivisionVet; 31R1O; ...

3 posted on 11/26/2024 8:11:05 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)

To: SunkenCiv

Cher is Armenian, IIRC...............

4 posted on 11/26/2024 8:15:28 AM PST by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)

To: SunkenCiv

I don’t know enough about the Ottoman-Russian wars, followed by the Ottoman genocide of Armenians, to know if the genocide was fueled by the belief that the Armenians were Balkans.

5 posted on 11/26/2024 8:16:17 AM PST by Tell It Right (1 Thessalonians 5:21 -- Put everything to the test, hold fast to that which is true.)

To: SunkenCiv

Maybe one or both of those populations had been largely displaced/replaced since the time of Herodotus. It has been a long time since I read him. I mainly remember he made great fun of the Egyptians.

6 posted on 11/26/2024 8:18:13 AM PST by Dr. Sivana ("Whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye." (John 2:5))

To: Dr. Sivana

The Phrygians crossed into Anatolia, but there’s only three generations of royal burial mounds in their capital. It might be a good time to do the DNA on those remains.

7 posted on 11/26/2024 8:20:48 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)

To: Red Badger

Cher is Armenian, IIRC...............

The parts of her that aren't plastic are anyway ...

8 posted on 11/26/2024 8:23:33 AM PST by x

9 posted on 11/26/2024 8:28:07 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)

10 posted on 11/26/2024 8:31:13 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)

To: SunkenCiv

"What's all this I hear about friggin Armenians?"

11 posted on 11/26/2024 8:35:47 AM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion, or satire, or both.)

To: SunkenCiv

My husband’s family came straight from Italy, his grandparents immigrated from Naples and Rome in the 20s.

When my husband had his DNA done a few years ago, it showed a good percentage of his DNA came from the Balkans. He had no idea - but who knows, people migrated all over the place.

I suggested we visit the Balkans if possible to check it out.

12 posted on 11/26/2024 8:36:35 AM PST by Bon of Babble (You Say You Want a Revolution?)

To: Bon of Babble

13 posted on 11/26/2024 8:42:33 AM PST by buwaya (Strategic imperatives )

To: Red Badger

14 posted on 11/26/2024 8:57:21 AM PST by Tallguy

To: SunkenCiv; SaveFerris; gundog

So first it was bunk, and now it is debunked?

15 posted on 11/26/2024 9:04:16 AM PST by Larry Lucido (Donate! Don't just post clickbait!)

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