Altai: Pre-Turkish History and Art

The human remains found in the Mal'ta settlement, located on the banks of the Angara River, which flows out of Lake Baikal in the Altai Region, have been identified as the oldest human burial remains of modern humans in Siberia. These remains, dated to 24,000 years ago, belong to a 3-4 year old child and a 1 year old infant. The child and infant were buried with ornaments. Detailed scientific and genetic tests have been conducted on the findings. The results show that the paternal lineage of people living in Western Siberia today matches 57% with the genes of this child. In addition to these, a skull belonging to a woman dated to 19,000 years ago and bone fragments dated to 18,000 years ago have been discovered. This region, which is very rich in archaeogenetic aspects, is expected to yield many new findings through further grave excavations.