A genealogical study of the origin of Pashtuns

Abstract

The study of the descent of different races and the investigation of their common ancestors has been of the interest of different disciplines since long. With the advancement of the genetic studies in the recent decades, the researchers have been attracted to utilize the potential of the genealogical studies to find the origin of different races of the world. The origin of Pashtuns is not is one of the most disputed both among historians and pashtuns themselves. This study aims to investigate about the origin of the Pashtuns based on the hypothesis drawn from the most popular claims. The genetic data for the 718 unrelated male subjects was studied. 16 Y-STR binary markers were used in this study. AMOVA was carried out for the data by using the YHRD online service and haplotype search was also carried out using YHRD. The results obtained are compared with the previously conducted similar studies. © 2013 Springer-Verlag.