EAGER: Genetic Diversity and Population History in Svanetia, Northwestern Georgia

来自宾夕法尼亚大学的Theodore G.Schurr博士和博士生Aram Yardumian博士将与格鲁吉亚研究人员Lia Bitadze博士(历史与民族学研究所人类学实验室)、David Chitanava博士(历史与民族学研究所)和Shengelia博士(T‘bilisi州立医科大学)合作，启动一项关于格鲁吉亚遗传祖先和民族起源的长期研究。目标是为该地区的人民建立一个模式。虽然人们对格鲁吉亚和南高加索地区各种考古领域的了解很多，但对格鲁吉亚民族与来自近东、安纳托利亚和俄罗斯草原的人口之间的生物和文化关系知之甚少。因此，该项目将阐明文化、遗传和语言对格鲁吉亚人口多样性的贡献。该项目将首先探索佐治亚州西北部讲斯凡语的人口的历史。美国-格鲁吉亚团队将从斯瓦内西亚三个地区的约350个人中收集家谱信息和DNA样本进行基因分析，格鲁吉亚研究人员将对斯瓦内特人口历史进行协调一致的民族史研究。该小组将通过历史语言学方法进一步研究格鲁吉亚卡特维利亚语言的多样性，并确定遗传多样性和语言多样性模式的相关性程度。这一多学科项目的结果将有助于更好地了解斯瓦内蒂亚的遗传多样性模式，并评估目前的民族语言群体可能以何种方式反映格鲁吉亚更深层次的生物模式。对于斯瓦内特来说，人们假设，格鲁吉亚西部古老的原住民后裔、来自安纳托利亚的讲卡特维利亚语的人的迁徙，以及后来北高加索草原人口的到来之间的历史接触，产生了今天在那里看到的种族多样性。该项目将进一步为与格鲁吉亚学者的长期合作研究奠定基础，这将对该地区和更广泛的高加索地区的历史产生新的见解，并在格鲁吉亚努力更全面地了解其国家历史的基础上再接再厉。此外，资助这项研究还支持一名美国研究生的教育。

Dr. Theodore G. Schurr and doctoral candidate Aram Yardumian, both of the University of Pennsylvania, will collaborate with Georgian researchers Dr. Lia Bitadze (Laboratory for Anthropologic Studies, Institute of History and Ethnology), Dr. David Chitanava (Institute of History and Ethnology), and Dr. Shengelia (T'bilisi State Medical University) to initiate a long-term study of genetic ancestry and ethnogenesis in Georgia. The goal is to develop a model for the peopling of the region. While much is known about the various archaeological horizons in Georgia and the South Caucasus, relatively little is known about the biological and cultural relationships of Georgian ethnic groups with populations from the Near East, Anatolia and the Russian steppe. Thus, the project will elucidate the cultural, genetic and linguistic contributions to the diversity of populations in Georgia. The project will initially explore the history of the Svan-speaking population in northwestern Georgia. The American-Georgian team will collect genealogical information and DNA samples from ~350 individuals in the three regions of Svanetia for genetic analysis, and Georgian researchers will conduct concerted ethno-historical research into Svanetian population history. The team will further examine the diversification of Kartvelian languages in Georgia through historical linguistic methods, and determine the extent to which patterns of genetic and linguistic diversity correlate.The results of this multidisciplinary project will contribute to a better understanding of the pattern of genetic diversity in Svanetia and assess the manner in which the current ethno-linguistic groups might reflect deeper biological patterns within Georgia. For Svanetia, it is hypothesized that a historical engagement between the ancient autochthonous descendants of western Georgia, the movement of Kartvelian-speakers from Anatolia, and the later arrival of North Caucasus steppe populations has produced the ethnic diversity seen there today. This project will further provide a foundation for long-term collaboration research with Georgian scholars that will yield novel insights into the history of this region and the Caucasus more broadly, and build on Georgian efforts to develop a more thorough picture of its national history. In addition, funding this research supports the education of an American graduate student.