Explore the Mal’ta reference, its role in Ancient North Eurasian models and its connections to the peopling of the Americas.
đź“Ť RegionRussia
🧬 Closest modern matchPassamaquoddy (European-Mixed)
⏳ Time periodUpper Paleolithic
Mal’ta–Buret’: Ice Age Siberia and Ancient North Eurasian ancestry
The Mal’ta–Buret’ label connects this reference with Upper Palaeolithic south-central Siberia. The best-known published genome from Mal’ta, MA-1, transformed models of ancestry across Eurasia and the Americas.
An Ice Age reference from Siberia
Raghavan and colleagues reported the genome of MA-1, a juvenile individual from Mal’ta dating to approximately 24,000 years ago. The study also examined a younger individual from Afontova Gora, making it possible to compare ancestry at different points in Siberian prehistory.
This site’s combined Mal’ta–Buret’ label is broader than an individual sample identifier. Although MA-1 is the key published context, the exact membership of the n=1 coordinate reference should be confirmed from its underlying sample documentation before assigning a study identifier.
The MA-1 genome showed a combination of relationships to western Eurasians and Native Americans that could not be explained by deriving all First American ancestry from a single East Asian source. This helped establish Ancient North Eurasian ancestry as an important element in population-history models.
Ancient North Eurasian is an analytical description of ancestry relationships, not the name of a single nation or a reconstructed language. A population’s similarity to Mal’ta is likewise not a direct percentage of descent from that one child.
Research published in 2020 traced further connections between Upper Palaeolithic Siberians and First American-related ancestry, and documented later admixture in the Baikal region. Neolithic and Bronze Age inhabitants cannot simply be treated as unchanged copies of the Mal’ta population.
For interpretation, retain the separation between an ancient genome, a statistical ancestry source and a later archaeological population. The same reference may be useful in several models, but the historical claim depends on which other sources are tested and whether the model fits the data.
In the World Genetics modern G25 comparison, the closest non-self match for Irkutsk UP Mal'ta'-Buret' is Passamaquoddy (European-Mixed). Other nearby references include Penobscot (European-Mixed), Gros Ventre (European-Mixed), Udmurt, and Tuscarora (European-Mixed). This gives the Irkutsk UP Mal'ta'-Buret' profile its nearest modern genetic context inside the current reference database.
Closest Matches
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Distance
What does Irkutsk UP Mal'ta'-Buret' ancestry look like?
The ancestral breakdown below loads the best-fitting World Genetics calculator for the Irkutsk UP Mal'ta'-Buret' average. It should be read as a model of deep ancestry components, while the closest-match table is the better guide to which modern populations are most similar in G25 space.
Ancestral Breakdown
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Where is Irkutsk UP Mal'ta'-Buret' DNA closest on the map?
The heatmap gives the Irkutsk UP Mal'ta'-Buret' profile a geographic shape. Warmer areas mark regions where available modern reference populations sit closer to the Irkutsk UP Mal'ta'-Buret' average, while cooler areas represent more distant matches.
What populations are genetically closest to Irkutsk UP Mal'ta'-Buret'?
The closest non-self match in this World Genetics comparison is Passamaquoddy (European-Mixed). Other nearby references include Penobscot (European-Mixed), Gros Ventre (European-Mixed), Udmurt, and Tuscarora (European-Mixed).
Is Irkutsk UP Mal'ta'-Buret' DNA closest to Passamaquoddy (European-Mixed)?
In the current modern G25 reference set, Passamaquoddy (European-Mixed) is the closest listed match to the Irkutsk UP Mal'ta'-Buret' average after removing Irkutsk UP Mal'ta'-Buret' itself from the table.
What does the Irkutsk UP Mal'ta'-Buret' heatmap show?
The heatmap shows where modern reference populations are closer or farther from the Irkutsk UP Mal'ta'-Buret' G25 average, giving the closest-match results a geographic view.
