Armenians Show Genetic Affinity with 32 Ethnic Groups

Armenians Show Genetic AffinityRecent studies conducted by the University of Oxford demonstrate that DNA analysis can uncover much more secrets of the origin of the human race than historical and archaeological discoveries.

Thanks to a method called “Globetrotter” based on the analysis of phenotype fragments, scientists carried out the project “A genetic atlas of human admixture history”, which allowed them to learn when and how genetic admixtures took place. This project is based upon DNA samples of over 2,000 individuals from 100 population groups of Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America. Remarkably, laboratory research demonstrated that the Armenian genome is present in many ethnic groups.

In particular, Armenians show significant genetic affinity with 32 ethnic groups. Doctor Garret Hellenthal remarked that even though the Armenian genetic code, which is more than 8,000 years old, is too complex to be fully described, the research group was able to identify the Armenian genome within other national groups.

“Thanks to this project, we were able to learn more about the connections of our ancestors with other nations. As it turned out, Armenian genes are observed the most in Lezgins (13,8%), Georgians (12,4%), Italians (Tuscans (11%), Neapolitans (6%), Sicilians (4%)), Turks (10%), and Iranians (8%). At the moment, Armenians are the only nation who do not show signs of genetic admixture with other groups,” clarified Hellenthal.

Moreover, DNA analysis conducted within the framework of another project, “Armenian DNA Project”, confirms the connections between the Armenians, Assyrians, Turks, Kurds, and Jews.

It should be noted that the genetic code of modern Turks shows the most affinity with that of the Armenians, Greeks, and Iranians. At the same time, it shows only 4% affinity with the genome of the Mongolians.

Scholars think that the present day 10% affinity between the Turks and Armenians is represented by the Armenians who had been assimilated by the Turks around one century ago. The representative of the foundation “Armenian registry of donors of bone marrow” Sevak Avagyan confirms this: “Armenians, Turks, and Kurds are genetically related ethnic groups. Nowadays, no one is surprised by this as the centennial geographical closeness of those groups is expected to bring such results.” Some cultural, as well as anatomical similarities between Armenians and other nations are quite well explained by their genetic affinity.

At the moment, the research of the Armenian genome continues. Below is a list of nations that showed genetic affinity with Armenians:

  1. Lezgins (Northern Caucasus, Caspian Sea) – 13,8%,
  2. Georgians – 12,4%,
  3. Tuscans – 10,7%,
  4. Turks – 10%,
  5. Iranians – 8%,
  6. Cypriots – 7,3%,
  7. The Druze (Levant) – 6.6%,
  8. Southern Italians – 6,2%,
  9. Adygeans (Northern Caucasus, Black Sea) – 5,9%,
  10. Syrians – 4,5%,
  11. Jordanians – 4,2%,
  12. Western Sicilians – 4,2%,
  13. Saudi Arabians – 4,0%,
  14. Han Chinese – 3,9%,
  15. Southern Sicilians – 3,8%,
  16. Hazaras – 3,7%,
  17. Uzbeks – 3,4%,
  18. Egyptians – 3,4%,
  19. Bedouins – 3,2%,
  20. Jews – 3,0%,
  21. Makrani (Pakistan) – 2,9%,
  22. Tunisians – 2,6%,
  23. Palestinians – 1,7%,
  24. Myanmese – 1,3%,
  25. Patan people (Pakistan) – 1,3%,
  26. Sindhis (Pakistan, India) – 1,1%,
  27. Emirati people – 1,1%,
  28. Uyghurs – 0,9%,
  29. Spaniards – 0,8%,
  30. Burusho people (Northern Afghanistan) – 0,8%,
  31. Papuan people – 0,6%,
  32. Cambodians – 0,5%.

3 thoughts on “Armenians Show Genetic Affinity with 32 Ethnic Groups

  1. It’s very interesting and I totally believe it. Jews and Druze are the genetically very close, and the Armenians you have pictures of look quite like my family mixed with something else, Persian maybe? The link you provided however doesn’t list any genetic Jews however. They list only Ethiopian Jews and Indian Jews, who, while some have ancient y-dna from Jews, they are are autosomally related to their local populations.. (it actually doesn’t say which group of Indian Jews -Cochin? Baghdadi? Bnei Menashe?, some have a genetic ancestral link, some are converts). While my autosomal dna tests did not match any of the populations you listed, my family’s haplotypes did. (Druze and Jews from India). Other population groups closely matched, were also on the list for Armenians, Sardinia, Cypriot, and Tunisia. I would love to see if they take this research further, as it stands I see that j2 is also a frequent Armenian haplogroup. (Also my paternal line!)

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