The Code of the People. How Two Young Researchers Are Trying to “Read” the Genome of Tajiks
Where do we come from — an eternal question that in Tajikistan is traditionally answered through history and archaeology. But today, genetics helps to speak more precisely about the past.
This is precisely what two young Tajik researchers are engaged in. For a year and a half, Sherzod Asrori and Mehrodj Rustamov have been studying the genetics of Tajiks. Their goal is to compile the first systematic database and try to build a genetic tree of the people.
How it all beganMehrodj Rustamov is a young doctor working in Moscow. Sherzod Asrori also lived there for a long time. After receiving higher education, he returned to Dushanbe and now works as the chief specialist of the department of archaeology and numismatics at the National Museum of Tajikistan.
The interest in studying history appeared in the guys long ago. They were both fascinated by anthropology, linguistics, and ethnology, and gradually came to understand that genetics could provide a more precise and verifiable tool for studying the past.
Population genetics is a relatively young field. It has been actively developing only in recent decades, but it already allows for the clarification and revision of historical hypotheses based on DNA.
For Mehrodj, it all started with a personal interest and an attempt to understand his own roots.
«My paternal line comes from the village of Rarz, Ayni district, and I knew that our roots go back to ancient Sogdiana. But I always wanted to confirm this through a DNA test,» he says. «In August 2024, I accidentally came across the Lak DNA project. Since my mother is Lak by nationality, I contacted the project administration and through them decided to take a genetic test for the first time."The results obtained sparked interest among other researchers. It was then that he was offered to create a similar project, but for Tajiks.
This is precisely what two young Tajik researchers are engaged in. For a year and a half, Sherzod Asrori and Mehrodj Rustamov have been studying the genetics of Tajiks. Their goal is to compile the first systematic database and try to build a genetic tree of the people.
How it all beganMehrodj Rustamov is a young doctor working in Moscow. Sherzod Asrori also lived there for a long time. After receiving higher education, he returned to Dushanbe and now works as the chief specialist of the department of archaeology and numismatics at the National Museum of Tajikistan.
The interest in studying history appeared in the guys long ago. They were both fascinated by anthropology, linguistics, and ethnology, and gradually came to understand that genetics could provide a more precise and verifiable tool for studying the past.
Population genetics is a relatively young field. It has been actively developing only in recent decades, but it already allows for the clarification and revision of historical hypotheses based on DNA.
For Mehrodj, it all started with a personal interest and an attempt to understand his own roots.
«My paternal line comes from the village of Rarz, Ayni district, and I knew that our roots go back to ancient Sogdiana. But I always wanted to confirm this through a DNA test,» he says. «In August 2024, I accidentally came across the Lak DNA project. Since my mother is Lak by nationality, I contacted the project administration and through them decided to take a genetic test for the first time."The results obtained sparked interest among other researchers. It was then that he was offered to create a similar project, but for Tajiks.
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