Uninterrupted Code: Armenian Genetic History

“For thousands of years, the descendants of Haik and the Neolithic foremothers have survived due to their enduring national identity rather than a mystical ‘Armenian gene.'” — From Uninterrupted Code: Armenian Genetic History

Uninterrupted Code: Armenian Genetic History is based on more than 20 years of study of the demographic history of one of the ancient peoples of Southwest Asia. It examines the conditions and prerequisites for the emergence of ethnic groups and the formation of their genetic identity; presents the results of genetic testing of various hypotheses of the origins of Armenians; analyzes the consequences of forced migrations of diaspora Armenian groups and contacts with other ethnic entities; discusses the importance of the “Genetic Atlas of Historical Armenia” for Armenian studies and the influence of national identity on the stability of the Armenian gene pool for thousands of years. By proposing a genetic interpretation of several problems, the clarification of which is unachievable within the framework of the classical sciences of Armenian studies, the author helps the reader form an objective view of the Armenians’ ethnogenesis.

The book is addressed to colleagues from related disciplines: paleoanthropologists, archaeologists, historians and linguists, as well as all those who are interested in the genetic history of Armenia.

Published in the Armenian and Russian languages. An English version is forthcoming.

About the Author

Levon Yepiskoposyan: anthropologist and geneticist, D.Sc. (genetics), Professor. Yepiskoposyan graduated from Moscow State University. Currently, he is heading the laboratory of evolutionary genomics at the Institute of Molecular Biology, National Academy of Sciences of Armenia. The scope of his scientific interests include the genetic history of the peoples of the Middle East and the South Caucasus, with a particular focus on the population genetics of Armenians. From 2000–2020, he was the organizer and permanent participant of international palaeontological expeditions to the Azokh cave and the Paleolithic site of Karin Tak in Artsakh. Yepiskoposyan is the author of more than 200 scientific publications, including two monographs, and a popular science book on genetic anthropology. Under his editorship (together with colleagues), a collective monograph “Azokh Cave and the Transcaucasian Corridor” was published (Springer, 2016). In November 2019, Yepiskoposyan was the invited guest speaker at the National Association of Armenian Studies and Research with his talk entitled “Genomic Reconstruction of the Fractured Homeland.”