水是生命之源, 积分是下载之源(灌水专用)

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The Pamir Mountains have played host to human occupation for almost 40,000 years—the first settlements beginning when hunter-gatherers moved out of the Middle East in search of more hospitable land during a dry period that gripped the region around 45,000 years ago. The region is particularly interesting to anthropologists because it has a rich history of ancient civilizations that all laid claim to this strategic region. The Central Asian steppes, at the heart of the Eurasian continent, were of importance to any ruler with global aspirations. As early as 4,000 years ago, the expansive Western Eurasian region, stretching from the Danube basin to the Indus valley, was occupied by Indo-Iranian speaking peoples. These included the Scythians—first mentioned by Herodotus on his travels through the region—who are widely credited with creating the artistic "Beast Style" of the forest-steppe land between the fifth and third centuries B.C. Several militant tribes also called this land home and used it to spread out in conquest of distant parts of northern India, destroying the ancient civilizations throughout the Indus Valley. They brought their language, Sanskrit, to India, as well as their sacred books known as the Vedy. Those who remained in the territories of present-day Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan later came to be known through the Greeks as the Persians.

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+u！！

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Some of the populations that remained in Tajikistan, such as the Yagnobi, are descendants of people of ancient Sogdian, known to have been conquered by Alexander the Great in his great campaigns of the first millennium B.C. Over the past several millennia, the people have adapted to life on the high mountain plateau and have therefore remained isolated from repeated introgression by the surrounding populations. Due to this isolation, their DNA constitutes a veritable genetic time capsule back into the days of ancient conquest and civilization. Could the DNA of these amazing people hold the secrets of into the legacy of Alexander's great army? This is just one of the many questions our Genographic team set out to uncover during this expedition.

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好累。不灌了。

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Arriving in Tajikistan
The 2006 expedition began in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, where, following Genographic's ethical framework, the team spent several days securing permits and establishing partnerships with the Tajik Academy of Sciences, the Education Ministry, and the Health Ministry, as all are necessary for fieldwork throughout the country.

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Our work throughout the region would not have been possible without the invaluable contributions of many important collaborators, and I would like to thank them (see below). From Dushanbe, we flew directly to Khorog, capital of the Gorno Badakshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO), which comprises the eastern, and Muslim, half of Tajikistan. The flight itself was no small feat! Known widely as one of the "five most dangerous flights in the world,' the small Soviet jet flies twice weekly over Afghan airspace and literally mazes through the mountain peaks—its small wingspan unable to lift the passengers above 16,400 feet (5,000 meters) in the thin air of the western Himalayas.

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The pilots are paid a "danger pay" stipend for their bravery, and the fact that the flight has crashed only once (succumbing to a shoulder-mounted rocket almost two decades ago) is a testament to their skill.

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Setting Up Camp in the Pamirs

Having arrived in Khorog, we set up camp at the Pamir Botanical Gardens. Home to over 3,000 species of plant domesticates, it served as our home base over the next few weeks for multi-day excursions into the most isolated valleys of the Pamirs.

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The western Pamirs, known as the 'Roof of the World,' is one of three mountain ranges in Central Asia and spans the northwestern arm of the Himalaya along with the Hindu Kush and Tien Shan. The daunting, mountainous terrain makes for a porous border with Afghanistan, and it is well known that as much as 95% of the world's opium and heroin passes along these very roads on its way into Kazakhstan, Russia, and ultimately Western Europe. The varied terrain provides a haven for drug smuggling and makes it rather difficult to travel freely from village to village. Importantly, it also produces the genetic and linguistic isolation that enable Genographic researchers to study the history of these storied mountains.

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Yagnobi Way of Life
From Khorog the team undertook repeated excursions along the Panj River to the Wakhan Corridor, skirting the Afghanistan border to visit local sanitariums, schools, Zoroastrian temples, and village elders in order to learn about the traditional life of the valley. One group we visited, known as the Yagnobi, were particularly isolated and remain accessible primarily through travel on donkeys along narrow mountain paths. There are many Yagnobi villages, and if five or eight families are living in one, the village is considered large.

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A brief stay in a Yagnobi village is enough to understand the beautiful simplicity of their life. For example, here, flour is ground daily in an enormous rock mill, powered by the repetitive flow of a diverted waterfall.

Because language tends to be a pretty good proxy for genetic isolation—typically it's difficult to sleep with somebody you can't speak with—there is a good chance that DNA from this group will say a great deal about human history in the region. I've been particularly impressed by their interest in genetics, quickly picking up how we study mutations to learn about bloodlines and create this complex human family tree. They are really interested in finding out what we learn back in the lab … a true collaboration.

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