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Historian highlights genetic evidence for Pripyat-Dnieper theory of Slavic roots
MINSK, 4 June (BelTA) – Chairman of the Commission on Education, Culture and Science of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus Igor Marzalyuk outlined the arguments in support of the Pripyat-Dnieper (Polesie) theory of the Slavs’ ancestral homeland in BelTA’s project True History. Lectures by Igor Marzalyuk.
According to Igor Marzalyuk, there are three scientific theories regarding the ancestral homeland of the Slavs: the Danube, the Vistula-Oder and the Pripyat-Dnieper (Polesie) theories. The third has particularly deep roots. “The most compelling evidence in support of the Pripyat-Dnieper theory has been provided by one of the most fascinating and objective sciences – genetics,” the historian said.
“Geneticists have identified two distinct groups within the Slavic population. One includes Western Slavs, Eastern Slavs, and two groups of Southern Slavs (Croats and Slovenes). The second group comprises the remaining Southern Slavic peoples. Researchers indicate that the majority of Slavs in the first group share a similar male-line genetic pool. This is where the most interesting part begins for Belarusians. According to geneticists, it is the Belarusian population that stands closest to the ancestral Slavic ethnic group,” Igor Marzalyuk said.
“A study of the gene pools of Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians showed that Belarusians possess all the specific features characteristic of the other two populations. Therefore, the territory of Belarus should be regarded as part of the ancestral homeland from which various Slavic ethnic groups spread in ancient times,” he added.
According to the historian, these facts became possible thanks to the development of a new scientific field, ethnic genomics, which is being actively advanced by Russian and Belarusian geneticists. “In the article Belarus – the homeland of the Eastern Slavs, Albert Valentinov cites evidence by prominent Russian scientist Svetlana Limborskaya, Doctor of Biological Sciences and head of a department at Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences. She discusses the decoding of the human genome, the enormous opportunities it has created, and ethnic genomics – a branch of genetics that studies genomic characteristics of different ethnic groups and peoples. Researchers sought to determine whether common genetic traits could be identified within communities such as Belarusians, Russians, Ukrainians and Poles,” Igor Marzalyuk said.
The historian concluded that by studying different populations, comparing their genomes and assessing their genetic relatedness, researchers can determine which populations share a common historical past and which genomes are more ancient.
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