Planigraphic (spatial) distribution of mitochondrial DNA variants at the Andronovo time cemetery Tartas-1: preliminary results

The most informative funerary site documenting the Andronovo (Fedorovo) migration to the West Siberian forest-steppe is Tartas-1, where more than 600 burials of that period, associated with Late Krotovo (Cherno-Ozerye) and Andronovo (Fedorovo) cultures, have been excavated to date. On the basis of skeletal remains from these burials, we have formed and successfully analyzed 256 samples of mitochondrial DNA, uniformly covering the entire area of the cemetery. This approach is a genetic counterpart of the continuous area method, which is used to excavate Tartas-1. The article opens a series of publications addressing the analysis and interpretation of this sample. We present the findings of the first stage in the analysis of spatial distribution of mtDNA lineages over the cemetery area under a simplified model that disregards the archaeological differentiation of the Andronovo time burials other than their spatial distribution. The analysis was performed at several resolution levels: from crude (at the level of the West Eurasian and East Eurasian clusters of mtDNA haplogroups) to high-resolution (at the level of specific structural variants). The information potential of each of those levels is evaluated. Data on the pattern of individual mtDNA lineage distribution are analyzed with regard to clusters on the cemetery area, indicating a considerable role of kinship across the site. The most promising areas for revealing groups of close relatives are identified. The findings enable us to minimize the effect of close kinship on assessing the population structure of Tartas-1.