Population genetics and comparative linguistics: phylogeny and phylogeography of haplogroup N1a2b and the linguistic prehistory of the Samoyed peoples

In this paper, we carry out a comparison of ethnogenetic data on the Y chromosome haplogroup N1a2b and linguistics of the Samoyed language group. Haplogroup N1a2b was inherited by modern peoples from an earlier population of the Uraloid anthropological type that inhabited the territory of Southern Siberia. A detailed reconstruction of the phylogeny of this haplogroup shows the ethnospecific structure of the N1a2b sublineages. The linguistic prehistory of the Samoyed peoples is reconstructed based on the analysis and stratification of loanwords. The results on linguistic phylogeny that are relevant for the present paper are obtained using manual analysis of common innovations (for the Samoyedic languages) and Bayesian lexicostatistics (for the Turkic languages). The following correspondences between the results of the genetic and linguistic analyses were uncovered. The region of the initial spread of haplogroup N1a2b roughly corresponds to the area identified as the Samoyedic homeland based on linguistic data. Specific proximity of Mator to the Nenets languages finds support in the history of N1a2b1b1 lineage. This lineage is attested among the Tundra Nenets and Khakas Kachins, whose language could be acquired by the former Matorspeaking population. The presence of N1a2b1b1 lineage among Kazym Khanty is explained by their secondary contacts with Nenets, entailed by the Nenets loanwords in the cultural vocabulary of the Northern Khanty dialects. N1a2b1b2a1 sublineage has been found among Mongols and Tuvans, correlating with the history of the Mongol-Tuvinian language contacts. The undertaken detailed analyses of the phylogeny of N1a2b1b1 lineage confirms the credibility of these conclusions. The obtained modern joint results from population genetics and linguistics complement each other fairly well and provide reliable confirmation of linguistic kinship and genetic-demographic processes in the populations of Siberia.