Black Sea Turkish DNA
Genetic origins and closest populations · Turkey · West Asia
The eastern Black Sea coast of Turkey, around Trabzon, is a steep, rainy strip between the Pontic mountains and the sea, long shared by Greek, Laz, Hemshin and Turkish-speaking communities. This page uses the Trabzon average. In our model, it is 39.8% Anatolian Neolithic farmer, 35.3% Caucasus hunter-gatherer, 13.2% Iranian Neolithic and 11.7% Levantine Neolithic, with no East Asian component, unlike the Central Anatolian Turkish average (7.6%), and more than twice its Caucasus-related share (15.6%). The nearest modern averages are Greeks from Trabzon (distance 0.0075) and Pontic Greeks (0.0091), closer than Turks from Gumushane and Rize. This fits the region's history: Greek was widely spoken here into the 20th century, many local people adopted Islam and the Turkish language over the Ottoman centuries, and some Muslim villages near Of still speak a Greek dialect, Romeyka. Its best ancient matches lie in the South Caucasus: early medieval Samtavro in Georgia (0.0196) and Late Antique Beniamin in Armenia.
- Largest ancient components in our model: Anatolian Neolithic farmers 39.8%, Caucasus hunter-gatherers 35.3%, Iranian Neolithic farmers 13.2%
- Closest modern population in our data: Greek (Trabzon), distance 0.0075
- Closest ancient group in our data: Georgia Late Antiquity-Early Medieval Samtavro (Chosroid), distance 0.0196
Where does Black Sea Turkish DNA sit on the genetic map of the world? To answer, we take the averaged Global25 (G25) coordinates of the Black Sea Turkish individuals sampled in Turkey, listed in the G25 sheet as "Turkish_Trabzon" and compare them with deep ancestral reference populations, with other modern groups and with ancient genomes. It is one of 335 populations in our atlas.
Ancient make-up of the Black Sea Turkish average
In a model built from deep ancestral reference populations, the largest share of the Black Sea Turkish average, 39.8%, goes to Anatolian Neolithic farmers, ahead of Caucasus hunter-gatherers (35.3%) and Iranian Neolithic farmers (13.2%). The Anatolian Neolithic farmers component reflects the Neolithic farmers of Anatolia, who carried agriculture into Europe from about 6500 BC. The Caucasus hunter-gatherers share (35.3%) reflects the hunter-gatherers of the Caucasus, a deep ancestry shared by the Caucasus, Anatolia and the Iranian plateau.
The fit is acceptable (fit distance 0.031): treat the proportions as a good approximation rather than exact values. The model draws on West Eurasian ancient genomes, with modern West African and East Asian stand-ins.
Anadolu – Anatolian Crossroads Report
Closest modern populations to Black Sea Turkish
Among the modern populations in the G25 data, the closest to the Black Sea Turkish average is Greek (Trabzon), at a distance of 0.008 (very close). Next come Pontic Greek at 0.009 and Turkish (Gumushane) at 0.013. Leaving aside the other regional samples listed under the same name in the G25 sheet, the nearest other populations are Greek (Trabzon) (0.008), Pontic Greek (0.009) and Armenian (Hemshin) (0.015). Even the tenth closest, Armenian (Amasia), is only 0.024 away: Black Sea Turkish belongs to a dense cluster of related populations, so small differences inside that cluster should not be over-interpreted.
| # | Population | Distance | Closeness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greek (Trabzon) | 0.0075 | Very close |
| 2 | Pontic Greek | 0.0091 | Very close |
| 3 | Turkish (Gumushane) | 0.0125 | Very close |
| 4 | Turkish (Rize) | 0.0132 | Very close |
| 5 | Armenian (Hemshin) | 0.0151 | Very close |
| 6 | Greek (Armenian Highland Erzurum) | 0.0152 | Very close |
| 7 | Laz | 0.0215 | Very close |
| 8 | Georgian (Laz) | 0.0220 | Very close |
| 9 | Armenian | 0.0236 | Very close |
| 10 | Armenian (Amasia) | 0.0237 | 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 Black Sea Turkish
Looking back in time, the ancient sample that most resembles the Black Sea Turkish average is Georgia Late Antiquity-Early Medieval Samtavro (Chosroid) (Early Medieval, c. 500-1000 AD), at 0.020. Armenia Late Antiquity-Early Medieval Beniamin and Armenia Roman Republic-Late Antiquity Beniamin (Artaxiad-Arsacid) 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 | Georgia Late Antiquity-Early Medieval Samtavro (Chosroid) | Early Medieval, c. 500-1000 AD | 0.0196 |
| 2 | Armenia Late Antiquity-Early Medieval Beniamin | Late Antiquity to Early Medieval, c. 250-1000 AD | 0.0220 |
| 3 | Armenia Roman Republic-Late Antiquity Beniamin (Artaxiad-Arsacid) | Late Antiquity, c. 250-600 AD | 0.0222 |
| 4 | Turkey Levant Gaziantep High Medieval (Armenian Profile) | High Medieval, c. 1000-1300 AD | 0.0250 |
| 5 | Turkey Anatolia High Medieval-Late Modern Bogazkoy (Pontic Profile) | Late Modern, c. 1800-1950 AD | 0.0278 |
| 6 | Armenia Late Antiquity Sarukhan (Arsacid) | Late Antiquity, c. 250-600 AD | 0.0287 |
| 7 | Georgia Hellenistic-Roman Empire Natakhtari (Pharnavazid) | Roman era, c. 1-400 AD | 0.0300 |
| 8 | Azerbaijan Caucasus lowlands LN | Late Neolithic | 0.0305 |
| 9 | Georgia Roman Empire-Late Antiquity Samtavro (Pharnavazid-Arsacid) | Late Antiquity, c. 250-600 AD | 0.0307 |
| 10 | Armenia Achaemenid Beniamin (Orontid) | Achaemenid era, c. 550-330 BC | 0.0314 |
Ancient DNA from Turkey
Our ancient DNA database holds 709 individuals excavated in present-day Turkey, dated from about 13,461 BC to 1573 AD. The most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups among them are J2a (68), G2a (60) and T1a (23), and the most frequent mtDNA haplogroups are K1 (93), N1 (43) and T2 (43). These are people who lived on the same land in the past, not necessarily ancestors of today's Black Sea Turkish population.
Most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups
Ancient DNA studies on Turkey
- Out-of-Anatolia: Cultural and genetic interactions during the Neolithic expansion in the Aegean (2025)
- Female lineages and changing kinship patterns in Neolithic Çatalhöyük (2025)
- Identification of Haplogroups and Molecular Markers in Skeletal Samples Excavated from the Ancient City of Resuloglu (Ugurludag, Çorum) (2025)
- Inequality at the Dawn of the Bronze Age: The Case of Basur Höyük, a ‘Royal’ Cemetery at the Margins of the Mesopotamian World (2025)
- The cranium from the Octagon in Ephesos (2025)
- The genetic structure of the Turkish population reveals high levels of variation and admixture (2021)
Browse them in our ancient DNA database: 709 from Turkey.
Compare yourself with Black Sea Turkish
Paste your G25 coordinates (scaled, one line, with or without a name in front) and we compute your genetic distance to the Black Sea Turkish average and to its closest neighbours, right in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or stored.
| # | Population | Your distance | Closeness |
|---|
This list only covers Black Sea Turkish 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 Black Sea Turkish individuals who were sampled, not every person who identifies as Black Sea Turkish. 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 Black Sea Turkish average. Your own DNA has its own story: Anadolu – Anatolian Crossroads 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 the peoples of Anatolia: six era models from Neolithic Barcın and the Hittite Bronze Age through Byzantine Anatolia, with the signature Medieval Turkic Arrival % (the Seljuk-era Central Asian layer, the closest measurable...
More populations from West Asia
Frequently asked questions
What is the ancient genetic make-up of Black Sea Turkish?
Modelled with deep ancestral reference populations, the Black Sea Turkish average is about 39.8% Anatolian Neolithic farmers, 35.3% Caucasus hunter-gatherers and 13.2% Iranian Neolithic farmers. These proportions are model estimates for a group average, not exact values for any one person.
Which populations are genetically closest to Black Sea Turkish?
Leaving aside other regional samples listed under the same name in the G25 sheet (such as Turkish (Gumushane)), the closest modern populations to the Black Sea Turkish average are Greek (Trabzon), Pontic Greek and Armenian (Hemshin). The closest ancient matches are Georgia Late Antiquity-Early Medieval Samtavro (Chosroid), Armenia Late Antiquity-Early Medieval Beniamin and Armenia Roman Republic-Late Antiquity Beniamin (Artaxiad-Arsacid).
Can a DNA test tell me if I am Black Sea Turkish?
No DNA test can confirm an ethnicity or a nationality. What DNA can show is how similar your genome is to the sampled Black Sea Turkish 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 Black Sea Turkish ancestry?
For the Black Sea Turkish average, the regional report to choose is Anadolu – Anatolian Crossroads 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.