Karachay DNA
Genetic origins and closest populations · Russia (Karachay-Cherkessia) · Caucasus
The Karachay live in Karachay-Cherkessia, in the upper Kuban valley on the western side of Mount Elbrus. They speak the same Turkic language as the Balkars, yet genetically their closest neighbours are the Circassians. In our model, the Karachay average is 39.2% Caucasus hunter-gatherer, 26.2% Anatolian Neolithic farmer, 20.6% steppe-related, 6.7% East Asian, 5.1% Natufian and 2.3% Iranian Neolithic, between the Circassian (39.0%) and Balkar (41.9%) levels of Caucasus ancestry. The nearest modern average is the Adyghe Circassian (distance 0.0088), then Kabardian Circassians (0.0091), with the Balkars, who share their language, only fourth at 0.0118. This is a common pattern in the Caucasus, where a Turkic language spread among people already settled in the mountains without replacing their ancestry. The closest ancient groups are medieval people from Anapa on the Black Sea (0.0234) and from Khazar-period Anapa, followed by early medieval Alans of the Saltovo-Mayaki culture.
- Largest ancient components in our model: Caucasus hunter-gatherers 39.2%, Anatolian Neolithic farmers 26.2%, Steppe herders (Yamnaya) 20.6%
- Closest modern population in our data: Circassian (Adyghe), distance 0.0088
- Closest ancient group in our data: Krasnodar High Medieval Anapa, distance 0.0234
This page sums up what the DNA of the Karachay sample tells us about deep origins. It is built from the averaged Global25 (G25) coordinates of individuals sampled in Russia (Karachay-Cherkessia), and it is one of 335 populations in our atlas. An average describes the group as a whole, not any single person in it.
Ancient make-up of the Karachay average
In a model built from deep ancestral reference populations, the largest share of the Karachay average, 39.2%, goes to Caucasus hunter-gatherers, ahead of Anatolian Neolithic farmers (26.2%) and Steppe herders (Yamnaya) (20.6%). The Caucasus hunter-gatherers component reflects the hunter-gatherers of the Caucasus, a deep ancestry shared by the Caucasus, Anatolia and the Iranian plateau. The Anatolian Neolithic farmers share (26.2%) reflects the Neolithic farmers of Anatolia, who carried agriculture into Europe from about 6500 BC.
Smaller traces of Iranian Neolithic farmers (under 5%) also appear. At that level they can reflect real minor ancestry, but also simple model noise, so they should not be over-read. The model fits well (fit distance 0.021), so these proportions are a reasonable summary. The model draws on West Eurasian ancient genomes, with modern West African and East Asian stand-ins.
Ararat – Levant & Caucasus Report
Closest modern populations to Karachay
Among the modern populations in the G25 data, the closest to the Karachay average is Circassian (Adyghe), at a distance of 0.009 (very close). Next come Circassian (Kabardian) at 0.009 and Kabardian at 0.011. Even the tenth closest, Kumyk, is only 0.024 away: Karachay belongs to a dense cluster of related populations, so small differences inside that cluster should not be over-interpreted.
| # | Population | Distance | Closeness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Circassian (Adyghe) | 0.0088 | Very close |
| 2 | Circassian (Kabardian) | 0.0091 | Very close |
| 3 | Kabardian | 0.0114 | Very close |
| 4 | Balkar | 0.0118 | Very close |
| 5 | Cherkes | 0.0123 | Very close |
| 6 | Abazin | 0.0142 | Very close |
| 7 | North Ossetian | 0.0201 | Very close |
| 8 | Circassian (Adyghe) (other sample set) | 0.0213 | Very close |
| 9 | Ossetian (North Ossetia) | 0.0226 | Very close |
| 10 | Kumyk | 0.0240 | Very close |
Distances are Euclidean distances between averaged G25 coordinates. On our scale, below 0.025 is very close, below 0.050 close, below 0.080 moderate, and beyond that distant.
Closest ancient populations to Karachay
Looking back in time, the ancient sample that most resembles the Karachay average is Krasnodar High Medieval Anapa (High Medieval, c. 1000-1300 AD), at 0.023. Krasnodar Early Medieval Khazar Khaganate Anapa and Ukraine Early Medieval Saltovo-Mayaki Verkhnii Saltiv (Alan, Ciscaucasian Profile) come next. That is a very close match, which suggests strong genetic continuity between those ancient people (or close relatives of theirs) and the modern population. A close ancient match is not proof of direct descent: it means those individuals carried a similar overall mix of ancestry.
| # | Ancient sample or group | Period | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Krasnodar High Medieval Anapa | High Medieval, c. 1000-1300 AD | 0.0234 |
| 2 | Krasnodar Early Medieval Khazar Khaganate Anapa | Early Medieval, c. 500-1000 AD | 0.0292 |
| 3 | Ukraine Early Medieval Saltovo-Mayaki Verkhnii Saltiv (Alan, Ciscaucasian Profile) | Early Medieval, c. 500-1000 AD | 0.0340 |
| 4 | Lithuania IA Flat Burials Marvele (Ciscaucasian Profile) | Iron Age | 0.0353 |
| 5 | North Ossetia Late Antiquity-Early Medieval Alan | Late Antiquity to Early Medieval, c. 250-1000 AD | 0.0375 |
| 6 | Karachay-Cherkessia Late Antiquity-Early Medieval Alan | Late Antiquity to Early Medieval, c. 250-1000 AD | 0.0382 |
| 7 | Ukraine IA Scythian Pisochyn (Ciscaucasian Profile) | Iron Age | 0.0397 |
| 8 | Ukraine Early Medieval Saltovo-Mayaki Bochkove (Bulgar, Ciscaucasian Profile) | Early Medieval, c. 500-1000 AD | 0.0414 |
| 9 | Armenia IA Lchashen-Metsamor/Urartian Bardzryal | Iron Age | 0.0477 |
| 10 | North Ossetia Early-Late Medieval Alan | Late Medieval, c. 1300-1500 AD | 0.0481 |
Ancient DNA from Russia
Our ancient DNA database holds 2,938 individuals excavated in present-day Russia, dated from about 208,050 BC to 1918 AD. The most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups among them are R1a (370), R1b (317) and N1a (235), and the most frequent mtDNA haplogroups are U5 (367), U4 (226) and U2 (150). These are people who lived on the same land in the past, not necessarily ancestors of today's Karachay population.
Most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups
Ancient DNA studies on Russia
- The Yeniseian and Andronovo Substrates in the Gene Pools of the Indigenous Southern Siberian Populations Analyzed by Q and R1a Y-Haplogroups (2026)
- Ancient genomics study reveals low HLA diversity in eastern hunter-gatherers (2026)
- Comparison of Illumina NovaSeq 6000, GeneMind SURFSeq 5000, Salus Evo, and MGI DNBSEQ-G400 for Ancient DNA Whole-Genome Sequencing (2026)
- Biochip for Determination of 92 Human Y-Chromosome Haplogroups by SNP Markers and Frequency Distribution of These Haplogroups in Slavic Population of European Russia (2026)
- Modern descendants of Kyordyughen warrior (Yakutia, 4200 years before present) in populations of Far East (2026)
- Genetic history of Rus' (2025)
- Paratyphoid Fever and Relapsing Fever in 1812 Napoleon’s Devastated Army (2025)
- Pre-Slavic and Slavic Interaction at Eastern Periphery of Slavic Expansion in Northeastern Europe (Y-Gene Pools of Volga-Oka Region) (2025)
Browse them in our ancient DNA database: 2,938 from Russia.
Compare yourself with Karachay
Paste your G25 coordinates (scaled, one line, with or without a name in front) and we compute your genetic distance to the Karachay average and to its closest neighbours, right in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or stored.
| # | Population | Your distance | Closeness |
|---|
This list only covers Karachay and its neighbours. To find out which of our reports actually fits your DNA, run the free Report Finder: it runs the same fit test that every report uses before an order.
No G25 coordinates yet? Get a free simulated G25 from your raw DNA file, or order G25 coordinates.
About these numbers
A word of caution: these figures describe the average of the Karachay individuals who were sampled, not every person who identifies as Karachay. Individuals vary around that average, and identity is about history, language and family, not about a genetic score. Read this page as a map of deep ancestry, not as a definition.
Method: averaged G25 coordinates, Euclidean distances to other modern and ancient averages, and a non-negative least-squares model against deep ancestral reference populations (data generated 2026-10-01). Read the full method.
Go deeper than the average
This page describes the Karachay average. Your own DNA has its own story: Ararat – Levant & Caucasus Report (15€) models your genome against the ancient sources and modern communities of the region, era by era, in a personal PDF report.
A report built for people of Levant or Caucasus ancestry: ancient regional core (Levant Iron Age, Caucasus Hunter-Gatherer, Kura-Araxes Bronze Age) versus non-regional outside admixture, across 13 communities (Maronite, Druze, Sunni...
More populations from Caucasus
Frequently asked questions
What is the ancient genetic make-up of Karachay?
Modelled with deep ancestral reference populations, the Karachay average is about 39.2% Caucasus hunter-gatherers, 26.2% Anatolian Neolithic farmers and 20.6% Steppe herders (Yamnaya). These proportions are model estimates for a group average, not exact values for any one person.
Which populations are genetically closest to Karachay?
In the G25 data, the closest modern populations to the Karachay average are Circassian (Adyghe), Circassian (Kabardian) and Kabardian. The closest ancient matches are Krasnodar High Medieval Anapa, Krasnodar Early Medieval Khazar Khaganate Anapa and Ukraine Early Medieval Saltovo-Mayaki Verkhnii Saltiv (Alan, Ciscaucasian Profile).
Can a DNA test tell me if I am Karachay?
No DNA test can confirm an ethnicity or a nationality. What DNA can show is how similar your genome is to the sampled Karachay average and to its neighbours. If you have G25 coordinates, paste them in the comparison box on this page to check that for free.
Which ExploreYourDNA report suits Karachay ancestry?
For the Karachay average, the regional report to choose is Ararat – Levant & Caucasus Report, which our fit test rates as an excellent match. Your own DNA may differ from the average, so the free Report Finder checks every report against your file before you buy.
Where does the data on this page come from?
From the averaged Global25 (G25) coordinates of the sampled individuals: genetic distances to other modern and ancient population averages, and a non-negative least-squares model against deep ancestral reference populations. The full method is described at https://www.exploreyourdna.com/populations#method.