The administrative division of Achaemenid Persia is still a matter of debates.

 The administrative division of Achaemenid Persia is still a matter of debates.

Most scholars agree that satrapic system was a hierarchic one. There were main and minor satrapies, where the latter was ruled by the former. In Bisitun inscription 23 lands are mentioned, which usually are assumed to be main satrapies during the Darius reign. Herodotus list of 20 satrapies is an incomplete recount of both main and minor satrapies where there is a clear bias toward western regions of empire. While the eastern regions are very little reperesented.

Khorikyan discuss those questions and based on his papers i made a map of main satrapy Armenia mentioned in Bisitun and other subsatrapies mentioned in Herodotus.

Saspeirs, Saspir or Sapirs. According Herodotus was located between Colchis and Media. For this reasin if was placed in modern Armenia. However if modern Azerbaijan was part of Medes main satrapy ( map 3) then a location in Eastern Georgia is also possible. Locating Saspeirs in modern Armenia has no any arguments. Neither in Urartian period or later Armenian period there is no single toponym that can be linked to Saspeir in modern Armenia. While such a toponym exists in Georgia. It is the Iberia. Some scholars had proposed a theory that sa- is a Georgian prefix for land like in Sakartvelo and the true root in Saspeirs/Sapirs is the *speir or *pir which can be the proto form of Greek Iberia and Latin Hiberia.

From genetic point of view we know that Iberian related ancestry had already formed in eastern Georgia in early antiquity. So some early Georgian polity must have existed there in Achaemenid period. Saspeirs can be the precursor of Iberia.

Matiene. Another obscure tribe mentioned with Saspeirs. Matiene existed in many places. In Anatolia and northwestern Iran. Khorikyan cites at last one Greek source where Matiene is mentioned in Caucasian context and based on this he place it in the headwaters of Kur river.

From genetic point of the presence of R1a and Q2 in ancient Samtskhe region is remarkable. It could be related to Persian rule there but can be a different influence from Iranian plateau. The Matiene being a,plausible candidate.

Not much is known about Alarodi. Only two sentences. So its localization will remain speculative.

In sum Khorikyan propose the the 18th satrapy was in north of Armenia rather in East Armenia.

Finally the Pactyuce mentioned alongside Armenians is in most likelihood a corrupted form of Patuka. A Luwian or Hittite term peda meaning "land" from which Katpatuka is derived. Which means lower land. A village Patuk is attested near Kharberd Elyazig city.

The third map shows main satrapies according Jacobs. While the second map shows the temporal expansion of the empire by Mladiov.

There are some chances that Kaskean from North Anatolia will not be anymore considered as unrecorded language.

 There are some chances that Kaskean from North Anatolia will not be anymore considered as unrecorded language.

Sasseville published a paper this year where he examines some Hittite cuneiform texts with unknown language and he suggests that those unknown words can be Kaskean lexemes.

The paper is behind the paywall but a small talk with Chatgpt AI gave me an impression that Sasseville is inclined to the theory that Kaskean has some connection with Hattic language.

The current scant archaegenetic data from north Anatolia also supports this theory. Rasuloglu Hoyuk which is linked to Hattic culture yielded G2-M406 and T1a2a. The same haplotypes where found in more northern location where Kaska people were attested.

This year was remarkable for Kaska archaeology also. A site was discovered that was explicitly linked to Kaska people. And a settlement near Samsun was proposed to be the famous Nerik city.

All links below.

https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document

About Rasuloglu aDNA

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DWaYca1Rf/

About ppssible connection with Nerik

Traces of Indigenous Kaška People Discovered in Sacred Hittite City of Nerik | OMÜ | Ondokuz Mayıs Üniversitesi

A new site

First archaeological evidence of the Kaskas, the Hittites' fierce enemies, discovered - Anatolian Archaeology

A remarkable linguistic review from Yediay et al. 2024 written by Kroonen, Thorso and Wigman.

 A remarkable linguistic review from Yediay et al. 2024 written by Kroonen, Thorso and Wigman.

It is in the supplements. Hrach Martirosyan 's paper is also referenced.

The link in the comments.

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Armenian is currently spoken in the Republic of Armenia and by a worldwide diaspora, but it has historically formed a patchwork of dialects across large parts of Anatolia and the South Caucasus95. Its first substantial attestation is the Classical Armenian literature appearing from the 5th century CE. Traditionally, it is considered an independent branch of the Indo-European family tree96, but is frequently placed in a higher-order subgroup with Greek72,74. As previously mentioned, our new IBD analyses show that BA individuals from both Greece and Armenia are best modeled as having shared ancestry derived from a population closely related to previously unpublished MBA samples from Moldova, associated with the Late Yamnaya culture (Genetics and Strontium Supplementary Fig. S6.21; S6.42). This contrasts with, e.g., individuals associated with Italic languages, who derive their Steppe ancestry by a vector of Corded Ware and Bell Beaker individuals. These results are consistent with the assumption of a primordial Graeco-Armenian subgroup that started diverging during the middle of the 3rd millennium at the latest. And thus, the rather sudden replacement of the previously widespread Transcaucasian Kura-Araxes culture by the Trialeti culture by the end of the 3rd millennium BCE97, with certain similarities to early Mycenaean culture26, probably represents the first tangible sign in the region of an Indo-European element that can be ancestral to the Armenian branch (Anthony 2024; Lazaridis et al. 2022a).

From the Iron Age, samples with Urartian and pre-Urartian contexts show a similar proportion of ancestry associated with the western Steppe, which is consistent with the existing view that the Urartian population was multiethnic99 and multilingual100,101, and it yields support for the hypothesis that it may have contained an Armenian-speaking component102,103. Moreover, as mentioned earlier, Steppe ancestry emerges in the South Caucasus already in the MBA, with no significant later input, and it is only a marginal ancestry component in Central Anatolia. This means that the traditional hypothesis of a migration of Armenian speakers across Anatolia after 1,200 BCE11,104 is increasingly doubtful.

Many scholars have assumed a particularly close relationship between (Thraco-)Phrygian and Armenian as well94, even closer than that of Greek and Phrygian105,106. However, more recent progress in the study of Phrygian has revealed a poverty of exclusively shared features with Armenian, which makes such a hypothesis difficult to support94. Likewise, our IBD results yield no support for assuming a common migration of Armenians and Phrygians through Anatolia, but rather suggest that the shared innovations of Greek, Phrygian, and Armenian are attributable to a higher-order subgroup (or linguistic area) connected with the Late Yamnaya culture of the 3rd millennium BCE.

Complex interaction over Caucasian range.

 Complex interaction over Caucasian range.

We have now sufficient DNA from both south and north of Caucasus to draw at last the contours of migratory events that shaped the pre Bronze Age history of Caucasian range. So lets make a summary of them.

If we skip the Paleolithic Mesolithic periods we have those events.

Around 5500-5000 BC Farmers from.Kura Araxes basin, almost certainly related to Shulaveri culture cross the Caucasus and venture to north. Even though its still contested by some but I have little doubt that zoological data will support the idea that pastoralism appears in East Europe due to this event. It spread rapidly to north toward Volga, then slightly later toward Ukraine. Those are the earliest kurganic cultures in East Europe that can be linked to IE people.

However the two most frequent haplotypes associated with pastoralism in East Europe are the R1b-V1636 and I2-L699 of local origin (EHG and UHG). Occasionally we see some cases of J2 and J1. The most remarkable is the J2b2b from Eneolithic Moldova which is from the same branch as the Shulaveri Y DNA from Menresh tepe in Azerbaijan. The J2b2a1-L283 that later expanded with Yamnaya also might be from Shulaveri.

Why despite important autosome changes in East Europe we dont see a similar change in Y DNA is a subject beyond the scope of this post.

Around 4300BC there is a migration from north to south. Not much was known about this migration before ancient DNA but given the apparition of R1b-V1636 in the south and also kurganic burials alongside local jar butials, there is little doubt that those were some northern pastoralistic groups that ventured to south. Their migration to south is apparently not massive and is not associared with mass violence. Quite contrary they became part of so called Chaff faced ware groups present all over the Highlands and South Caucasus.

The steppe ancestry in Areni in Chalcolithic period is the best proof of this migration.

Around 3900-3800BC a new group moves to north, once more apparently via Daghestan and plays a role in the formation of Maykop culture. The reason why I believe in a migration via Daghestan is that none of haplotypes found in Maykop culture was present in ancient Georgia. Those are the L2, T1a3, J2-P81. Also a mass migration of CFW people via Georgia would cause a strong dilution of CHG ancestry for which we dont see any evidence, especially in West Georgia.

Maykop was a complex story, people from Central Asia also played a role in Maykop culture introducing the haplogroup Q1. Maykop is not directly ancestral to Yamnaya even though it probably had some cultural influence. Maykop Novosvobodnaya had G2a2a, in theory if could be a result of a distinct migration via central Caucasus. However the data is still insufficient for definitive conclusions.

Around 3600BC another group migrates from south to north. Those are the Kura-Araxes culture people associated with J1-Z1842 haplotype. This new event harms the interests of Maykop people. In most likelihood it moved to north via central regions of Caucasus. Via modern Mtskheta-Mtianeti or Kakhetia region. The massive presence of J1-Z1842 in north Caucasus leaves little doubt that it is associated with Nakh-Daghestani speakers there. Meanwhile in the steppe region near Azov sea a Proto Yamnaya group prepares to expand around 3500BC. It is associated with R1b-Z2103. This group will not move immediatly to south. Only after 2500BC. Even though Yamnaya people will create an offshoot in North Caucasus known as North Caucasian culture or Kubano Tersk.

The map shows two way interactions between north and south over eastern pass. The genetic history of western pass in Caucasus is different. It was more isolated and had less impact.

Grooved ware (ակոսավոր խեցեղեն), the missing piece of puzzle.

 Grooved ware (ակոսավոր խեցեղեն), the missing piece of puzzle.

We had many discussions about the modern genetic profile of Armenians in this group. How, where and when it formed. Nareg Asatrian posted many times genetic qpadm models showing the modern Armenian profile as a mixture of two populations. Similar models were reproduced by other commentators and finally they started to appear in academic papers also. The most notable being the Hovhannisyan et al. 2025.

Even though those models are feasible by statistic tools and they are useful as a rapid abstraction, the real historic events behind the formation of modern genetic profile was more complex.

Two key events are usually emphasized. The Middle Bronze Age migration from steppe and Urartu expansion (840-600 BCE) with their politics of relocations. More than 1500 years separate this two events and it would be odd that nothing remarkable occurred between them. In reality an important demographic event had affected historic Armenia at 1200 BCE. And its known as the spread of grooved ware, which is also known as Nairi ware.

Based on the comprehensive study of Guido Garducci we can say that the oldest forms of grooved ware, which he call Proto-Nairi appears in South Caucasus, mostly in Lchashen culture sites and northwestern Iran (1400-1300BCE). The attached map is from Guarducci's book. The red part is the Proto-Nairi. The color painting can be confusing, because he included western Georgia also which didn't have any grooved ware. So the best way to understand this map is to look on archaeologic sites (dots) and not on colors.

Around 1200BCE all the regions colored by green suddenly witness the apparition of this new grooved pottery type. Some scholars believe that this event was associated with large migrations. However scholars have very different opinions about the real geographic origin of migrants. Summing up the opinions we can include them in three groups.

1. Grooved ware in green zone came from South Caucasus

2. Grooved ware in green zone expanded from Van basin

3. The origins of grooved ware in green zone was in upper Euphrates where we see extremely large numbers of sites with this type of pottery.

The pottery found in red and green zones is not completely identic, but they share some important features. Its obvious that the initial impulse came from South Caucasus but a direct migration of Lchashen people into all this "green" lands would imply that modern Armenians should have higher steppe ancestry than they have today. Another possibility is that the initial impulse from South Caucasus affected groups living in Van basin or upper Euphrates and later they expanded on their own spreading a different genetic profile than that of Lchashen. Such a scenario would fit better with modern Armenian genetic profile.

Offcourse later Urartu empire activities are also important for the shaping of modern Armenian genetic profile. However grooved ware period is crucial for understanding the genetic history of Highlands prior the Urartu formation. Unfortunately the currently available ancient DNA is absolutely insufficient to prefer any forementioned theory. As usual we will look forward for new data.

If the aceramic nature of this site is confirmed then this will be the oldest Neolithic site in South Caucasus and probably in a wider region.

 If the aceramic nature of this site is confirmed then this will be the oldest Neolithic site in South Caucasus and probably in a wider region. After Lernagog 1 finding dated to 7th millenium BCE this will be the next major Neolithic site. Most probably even more important than Lernagog 1.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DBu1jBTtj/

The possibility that Sumerians originated from north Mesopotamia raise the probability that Proto-Sumerians had the occasion to contact the Fertile Crescent farmers who moved to South Caucasus and further north of Caucasus.

 The possibility that Sumerians originated from north Mesopotamia raise the probability that Proto-Sumerians had the occasion to contact the Fertile Crescent farmers who moved to South Caucasus and further north of Caucasus. This could mean that some lexical parallels between Sumerian and PIE are genuine. Aleksi Sahala from the Helsinki institute made a summary of proposed parallels. Not all cases are of good quality but some have high chances to be real cognates.

Lets see them.

Sum. gud, gu4 'ox, bull; cattle'. ~ PIE *gwou(s)- 'cow; ox'; Hitt. *kuṷāu-;

Skr. go ( ), Gk. bous (βοῦς); TochB keŭ; ON. *kú, Arm. kov

Cattle was domesticated in West Asia core Fertile Crescent region. From there it moved to various regions including the South and North Caucasus. It is not hard to imagine that the term used by pastoralists in Pontic and Caspian steppe was from North Mesopotamia as Sumerians themselves. The Egyptian word "ka" ox, "kaut" cow can have the same origin. Its remarkable that farmers of ancient Egypt had T1a1a and H2, haplotypes, which was present in historic Armenia/South Caucasus farmers also.

Sum. šáḫ(a) 'pig; boar' → Akk. šaḫû 'pig'; Ug. šeḫû 'pig' ~ PIE *suh1-

'swine'; Skr. sūkara (सक ); TochB suwo; Lat. sūs; Goth. swein.

Variants: šaḫ, šúḫ? (ŠUBUR). The reading with <a> is more widely accepted and supported by the Akkadian correspondent. Similar word is also found from Kartvelian languages, GZ ešw- 'wild boar, pig'. All these words probably share a common prehistoric etymology.

Possibly another Fertile Crescent term with similar history. The presence in Kartvelian is also interesting. The Armenian "xoz" is not directly derived from PIE but could be related to same arealic word or from Parthian.

Sum. sí-sí 'horse' ? Akk. sisium 'horse' ← Hurr. issi(a) 'horse' ~ PIE

*h1ekwos 'horse'; Hitt. aśuwas; CLuw a-aš-šu; Skt. áśva (अश); PIA. *aĉwa-;

Lat. equus; Alb. sasë, Arm. eš

The trajectory of this word is without much doubt from PIE to Sumerian. The author conjecture about the Indo-Iranian mediation but the Armenian "eš / išoy" which was meaning horse in the past is the best source of Hurrian form (Petrosyan 2002). We describe the paleogenomic rational for this trajectory in Petrosyan and Palyan 2023. The Armenian word initially meaning horse had a semantic change later. See Martirosyan 2009 for this change.

Sumerians and Akkadians got the word from Hurrians. The bulk of Sumerian attestations are from URIII period which is a post Akkadian period.

Sum. urud(a) 'copper' → Akk. erû 'copper' ~ PIE *h1reudh

-ó- 'red'; Skt.

rudhira, Av. raoðita; TochA rtär; Gk. eruthros (ἐρυθρός); Lith.

raudonas; Gaul roudos; ON rjóðr;

Another remarkable word. The semantic shift is probably from color name to metal term like in the case of "argentum" silver. This word is attested in Sumerian from 4th millenium BC. Copper use is older in Highlands than in Mesopotamia. If the word for color red was initially an IE word then the most likely period is the Chaff faced ware dated at Late Chalcolithic (4200-3500BCE). This period was mix and almost certainly had IE speakers among them.

For other linguistic parallels see the link in the comments.

See also related subject PIE - Semitic lexical parallels.

The exact branch of G2 found in Middle Bronze Age kurgan in Atskuri near Akhaltsikhe is now available. Its the G2-Y258395.

 The exact branch of G2 found in Middle Bronze Age kurgan in Atskuri near Akhaltsikhe is now available. Its the G2-Y258395.

Its a minor branch today found among Armenians, Turks and Georgians.

https://www.yfull.com/tree/G-Y258395/

The parallel branch PH1780 is predominantly Georgian and Kartvelian, except the subbranch PH311 which is more cosmopolitan.

Little bit more distant parallel branch L1264 is predominantly found in northwest Caucasus among Abkhaz-Adyghean speakers.

Given that the center of gravity of this branch G2-Y258395 is located in what is now the Turkey, its safe to assume that the real ancestor of G2-Y258395 was probably living somewhere between Ardahan and Erzurum region rather than in Atskuri. Ancient samples from northeast of Turkey are needed to confirm this.

All this three branches are part of a larger haplotype known as G2-L1266, 7800 years old. Its now safe to say that this haplotype was a Neolithic lineage that moved from south, probably from Upper Euphrates region to west and northwest Caucasus during the Neolithic period were it is found today in abundance. Another path that we cant yet fully rule out is a migration via Daghestan to north Caucasus to Maykop culture. Then a backflow to south Caucasus via western Caucasus. However this latter scenario is less likely than the first one.

In Armenian legends modern Armenia is an important place where many patriarchs lived.

 In Armenian legends modern Armenia is an important place where many patriarchs lived. Starting from Aramaneak the son of Hayk many generations live and rule in Araratian plain and its neighborhood. Aramayis, Shara, Amasya, Gelam, Harma, Sisak and others left their names in toponyms. Its also in Araratian plain that the legendary (which was also a real city) capital Armavir was located. This fact is an argument for the Etiuni theory which was also located in what is now Republic of Armenia.

However Hayk himself which represents the epomynous patriarch of Hay people (Armenians) was mostly acting near the lake Van. His main domain was in Hark in Taron, which was west of lake Van. He battled Bel in Hayoc' dzor which was in south east of lake Van. At last two settlements associated with him Haykashen and Haykaberd are also situated near lake Van. The latter Haykaberd is today known as Cavushtepe from where we have few ancient DNA.

Assuming that legendary memory is not an arbitrary construct, this could mean that regions around lake Van were as important for the ethnogenesis of Armenians as the modern Armenia.

We have already noticed this from the available ancient DNA. However the available data is not sufficient to make definitive verdicts. In any case this do not change the broad picture of Armenian origins derived from Middle Bronze Age migrations. But most probably some important details will emerge with new data from Lake Van region.

Syunik particularity.

 Syunik particularity.

Davidski has made new G25 coordinates of Skourtanioti et al. 2025 paper, including the 25 new files from Syunik. He cleaned noisy SNPs which are almost certainly a result of postmortem damage and after this the PCA of "Hellenistic" era Syunik samples are more compact and less heterogeneous. While modern Syunik people "cloud" plots inside the Aghitu Hellenistic "cloud".

The conclusions are the same as in the previous post about those Aghitu cave samples.

Some samples shifted to Iranian plateau are probably from Achaemenid/Orontid era (600-300BC) rather than Hellenistic (300-1AD). The shift to Iranian plateau was even more stronger in Late Antique era sample from Caucasian Albania Shamakhi region, so we could say that Iranian influence was probably stronger in eastern parts of South Caucasus than in other parts of historic Armenia and Caucasus. However this influence was transient in Armenia given that modern Syunik Armenians don't have any strong shift to Iranian plateau.
The reason why in Syunik we don't see an abrupt genetic change in post - Urartian period, similar to Araratian plain, Sevan and Shirak regions is probably due to the fact that Urartu didn't have a strong control of Syunik and didn't build there new cities with new relocated population. As a result the Etiuni genetic profile lasted longer and the change to the modern one was gradual.
We can expect that similar pattern of gradual change occurred in other parts of historic Armenia that didn't witnessed a strong control of Urartian empire. Examples are Artsakh, Utik and parts of Gugark.

This data support the theory that we proposed in Petrosyan and Palyan 2023 about the post-Urartian genetic shift. We proposed that is the consequence of Urartu's population relocation activities.

Additionally it's possible that after the fall of Biainean dynasty in Van the Biainean elite moved to Araratian plain. A theory that was suggested by some scholars. However this theory require more data to be confirmed or falsified.

The Middle Bronze Age (2400-1500BCE) in South Caucasus

 The Middle Bronze Age (2400-1500BCE) in South Caucasus

Now that DNA files from Skourtanioti et al. 2025 paper about Georgia and South Caucasus are available we can take a closer look on them. The subject of this thread will be the crucial period of Middle Bronze Age (MBA) when the new Y DNA of steppe origin (R1b-Z2103, I2a2b) appear in South Caucasus and all over historic Armenia.

The data from Georgia MBA shows that only eastern Georgia was affected by Steppe migrants. The blue dots shows the sites where the Steppe ancesrtry and YDNA was present, while red dots show the sites where it was mostly absent. On the second chart You can see the same in numbers. This pattern is possible only if Steppe migrants crossed the Caucasus via the Dagestan and eastern Caucasian pass.

Theoretically a migration via the Central Caucasus is also possible but in that case the migrants would acquire extra CHG which is not the case. In contrary MBA samples both from Georgia and Armenia have extra shift toward Anatolian farmers which is possible only if they have crossed the modern Azerbaijan where Anatolian farmer rich population was present since at last Late Chalcolithic and apparently persisted in Early Bronze Age also.

This scenario explains two findings of this paper.

1. The reason why steppe average is lower in MBA Georgia than in MBA Armenia. Its due to geographic heterogdneity. The western Georgia lacking or having very low levels of steppe harbored a non-IE population which almost certainly were the Kartvelian tribes.

2. The paper also notes an excessive shift toward Anatolia in MBA. This can be explained by a migration via the lands where Anatolian shifted population lived. The best candidate is the Leyla tepe culture in what is now the Azerbaijan Republic. Which can also explain the presence of E1b in MBA Armenia.

PS. Thanks to Tigran Sg for the labeled G25 coordinates and for first noticing this pattern.

Another perspective on 25 Antique era samples from Syunik (Aghitu) from Skourtanioti et al. 2025.

 Another perspective on 25 Antique era samples from Syunik (Aghitu) from Skourtanioti et al. 2025.

The bulk off them are in the intermediate position between Iron Age Syunik marked as LIA and modern Syunik. Which makes sense. The cause of the change from LIA to modern Syunik might be a source similar to Turkey IA which includes samples from Van and Batman regions.

The rest have various shifts. Some toward Iranian plateau, One case with a strong shift to Levant and it seems at last two cases shifted toward Anatolia or even Europe.

I don't think all this samples are from Hellenistic era. Only one has a radiocarbon date. While others are dated based on archaeology which can be misleading in caves. However if they are from Hellenistic era this could mean that the Etiuni genetic profile persisted in Syunik quite long time.

Most of their Y DNA are typical Etiuni. R1b the L584 subbranch. The rest also might be local, like the J2-M92 and E1b. I2a1-L699 might be from Etiuni also. If G1 is real it could be from NW Iran. But it can be local also. However the paper do not mention the G1, it was found by Genarchivist users.

There is little doubt that most of this people were Armenian speakers in their lifetime.

R1b - L584 in distant lands

 R1b - L584 in distant lands

L584 is associated with Trialeti-Vanadzor and Van-Urmia cultures. However we have some cases in distant lands. The most remarkable is the L584 in Moldova Late Scythian period and in Mongolia during the Uighur khaganate period. Those cases can't have local steppe origin, they are almost certainly a result of migration from Armenia-Iran-Caucasus given that older samples from Hasanlu and Armenia have common ancestors with those steppic L584. So what historic event could be the cause of this migration.

In my opinion it is the back migration of Scythians from West Asia to north. While two cases in Mongolia could be either from Scythians either the result of Manichean proselytism. Uighur Khaganate was a short lived polity that adopted Manichaeism as a state religion.

https://discover.familytreedna.com/y-dna/R-FGC14617/tree

Remarks on a major paper about Scythians.

 Remarks on a major paper about Scythians.

Despite more than a dozen ancient DNA papers about Scythians published till now the "true" Scythians described in ancient Greek texts, living in north of Black Sea remained poorly sampled. The Andreeva et al. 2025 filled this lacuna.

The main finding of the paper is that despite somewhat homogenous material culture labeled as "Scythian" by modern archaeologists, the real people behind this culture were quite diverse genetically.

The main Scythian cluster label as Scy_Major had expected autosomes. Mostly like Sintashta/Srubnaya plus some minor east Asian and Central Asian farner (BMAC) ancestry. The most frequent Y DNA was the R1a-Z93 as expected. Other haplogrouos found there were I2, G2, J2, N1a, Q1b, R1b. The G2 and J2 are remarkable because they apparently joined the Scythian communities from the North West of Caucasus. It's G2-L1266 and J2-Z6046 typical to that region.

Another interesting finding is the ancient DNA of Maeotians. They had typical North Caucasian autosomes different from Scythians. This confirm the theory that Maeotians were Caucasians most probably affiliated to Abkhaz-Adygheans.

While Scythians of Moldova and Hungary were apparently local Thracians and Pannonians rather than true Scythians.

And finally the finding that can be related to Armenia's history is that late Scythians of Crimea had some Iran Neolithic (South Caucasian?) related ancestry which they could have got while crossing the Caucasus and returning back to Steppe. If further research confirms this then the story of Herodotus about Scythians ruling in West Asia 26 years and returning back will find a support. The byblical Askanaz living next to Ararat/Armenia. Is usually linked to Scythians.

A paper dedicated to microbes that causes infectious diseases.

 A paper dedicated to microbes that causes infectious diseases.

Scholars examined large number of ancient human remains for the purpose to detect ancient microbes. They came to the conclusion that the shift to farming and especially to pastoralism increased the number of infectious diseases. The cohabitation with livestock is the main cause of this increase. In Europe the mass migration from steppe at 3000BC coincide with the peak of microbe DNA detected in ancient remains. They suppose that steppe pastoralists who heavily relied on livestock acquire more immunity than those farmers in Europe relying mostly on crop raising. Which can explain the population change in Europe. Here an excerpt from their conclusion.

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We observed some of the highest detection rates at roughly 5,000 bp, a time of substantial demographic changes in Europe due to the migration of Steppe pastoralists and the displacement of earlier populations4,5. Steppe pastoralists, through their long-term continuous exposure to animals, probably developed some immunity to certain zoonoses and their dispersals may have carried these diseases westwards and eastwards. Consequently, the genetic upheaval in Europe could have been facilitated by epidemic waves of zoonotic diseases causing population declines, with depopulated areas subsequently being repopulated by opportunistic settlers who intermixed with the remaining original population. This scenario would mirror the population decline of Indigenous people in the Americas following their exposure to diseases introduced by European colonists55,56. Our findings support the interpretation of increased pathogen pressure as a likely driver of positive selection on immune genes associated with the risk of multiple sclerosis in Steppe populations roughly 5,000 years ago57, and immune gene adaptations having occurred predominantly after the onset of the Bronze Age in Europe9

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