AN EXAMINATION OF THE MUŠKI TRIBE: A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH INCLUDING PALEOGENOMICS

Abstract

The northern regions of West Asia have been home to countless ethnocultural groups throughout history. Among the most mysterious are the Muški. A multidisciplinary approach was used to examine the Muški, including utilizing genetic data for the first time, with the hope of identifying their cultural and linguistic affiliation. In the 8th century BCE, the Assyrians used “Muški” as a name for Phrygia, which led to subsequent theories suggesting the Muški must have origins in the Balkans, either as Phrygians or as a group closely related to them. However, these connections have proven to be groundless. This new evaluation supports a Muški connection to Armenians, although with a considerable update: it rejects a Balkan origin for both groups, instead opting for a migratory route from the Late Proto-Indo-European urheimat in the Pontic-Caspian steppe through the Caucasus, with the Muški establishing a homeland in the Upper Euphrates region. Alternatively, it finds a connection to the ancient Kaška people, known allies of the Bronze Age Muški, equally plausible. Additionally, an analysis of the available linguistic evidence has similarly indicated that a Muški ethnolinguistic connection to Georgian is unlikely, although a connection between the names Muški and Mtskhe is plausible.