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.....American Indian lineage has been traced to a tiny region of Russia called Altai, which borders China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan. Between 13,000 and 14,000 years ago, these Altaians trekked thousands of miles, up through Russia/Siberia, eventually crossing the then-exposed Bering land mass into the Americas. "Altai is a key area because it's a place where people have been coming and going for thousands and thousands of years," said Dr. Theodore Schurr, from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Schurr's team checked Altai DNA samples for markers in mitochondrial DNA, which is always passed on by mothers, and Y chromosome DNA, which...

In 2010, a small bone fragment of a finger bone was discovered in Denisova cave in the Altai Mountains of Asia. Later genetic analysis indicated that it belonged to a heretofore unknown ancient human species, named Denisovans, and that their DNA is still present in native populations of Australia, New Guinea and surrounding regions. There is a distinct, and puzzling, absence of the DNA in Asian populations. ...Alan Cooper of the University of Adelaide in Australia and Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum in the UK are suggesting that the DNA presence could be the result of the Denisovans...

The body of the ice-maiden (aka Ukok Princess, etc.) is finally returning to the Altai Republic in a region close to Russia's frontiers with Mongolia, China, and Kazakhstan. Her well-preserved remains were discovered in 1993 by Novosibirsk scientist Natalia Polosmak during an archeological expedition. After discovery, she was taken to a scientific institute in Novosibirsk. The local people in the Altai believe the princess's removal led to bad consequences, causing a crash of the helicopter carrying her remains away and a spate of 300 earth tremors in a six month period. Upon return, she'll be kept in a special mausoleum...

Altai in southern Siberia sits right at the centre of Russia. But the tiny, mountainous republic has a claim to fame unknown until now - Native Americans can trace their origins to the remote region. DNA research revealed that genetic markers linking people living in the Russian republic of Altai, southern Siberia, with indigenous populations in North America. A study of the mutations indicated a lineage shift between 13,000 and 14,000 years ago - when people are thought to have walked across the ice from Russia to America. This roughly coincides with the period when humans from Siberia are thought...

New tomb for 'Altai Princess' to be built in Siberia 21:34 | 20/ 03/ 2008 NOVOSIBIRSK, March 20 (RIA Novosti) - A tomb to house the remains of a woman found after being preserved in ice for 2,500 years will be built in Siberia's Altai Republic, the director of a local museum said on Thursday. The well-preserved remains of the woman dubbed the Altai Princess were discovered in the region by a team led by a Novosibirsk archeologist in 1993 near the Mongolian border, and have been studied at the Archaeology and Ethnography Institute in Novosibirsk. Residents of Altai, where...

Graves of Ancient Russian Rulers Discovered at Altai 30.08.2007 Rurik, legendary Russian rulerArcheologsts have recently discovered graves of ancient Russian family of Ruriks (“Rurik” means “famous ruler”) in the town of Zmeinogorsk, reports famous Russian historian. The discovery was totally unexpected – fellows of local historical centre have taken children from historical society to perform diggings on the city’s cemetery, and among other pre-revolutionary burials they found graves of Ruriks. Now scientists start enormous research – they are going to identify the graves and bodies in them.

Ancient 'warrior' found in permafrostFrom correspondents in Moscow January 10, 2007 11:48pm RUSSIAN archaeologists have uncovered the 2000-year-old remains of a warrior preserved intact in permafrost in the Altai mountains region, the official Rossiiskaya Gazeta daily says. The warrior was blond had tattoos on his body. He was wearing a felt coat with sable fur trimmings and was buried in a wooden frame containing drawings of mythological creatures with an icepick beside him, the paper said. Local archaeologists believe the man was part of the ruling elite of a local nomadic tribe known as the Pazyryk. Numerous other Pazyryk tombs...

'Burying the mummy will stop the earthquakes' April 01 2004 at 06:33AM Moscow - Residents of Russia's Altai region say that a 25-century-old mummy that was dug up 11 years ago is causing earthquakes in their corner of Siberia and have demanded that it be reburied. "We must calm people down and bury the Altai Princess," which is being studied by researchers at an institute 600km away, said Aulkhan Jatkambayev, the administration chief in the area where the mummy was discovered. "We are having tremors two or three times a week, sometimes measuring up to four (on the Richter scale)....

NEWS RELEASEHEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND7115 South Boundary BoulevardMacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894 September 19, 2003Release Number: 03-09-19 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ANOTHER “IRAQI TOP 55” IN COALITION CUSTODY BAGHDAD, Iraq – Sultan Hashim Ahmad Al-Jabburi Al-Tai, number 27 on the coalition’s list of most wanted government officials, is now under custody of coalition forces. The former Iraqi Minister of Defense turned himself in to the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) on Sep. 19. Coalition forces will continue to work at apprehending former members of the Saddam Hussein regime