An Examination of the Muški Tribe: A Multidisciplinary Approach Including Paleogenomics

Palyan, Aram and Peltekian, Seb · 2025

Re-examines the Mushki, one of the most obscure ethnocultural groups of the northern regions of West Asia, combining textual, linguistic and, for the first time, genetic evidence. Because eighth-century BCE Assyrian scribes used 'Mushki' for Phrygia, scholarship long inferred a Balkan origin for the group; the authors find those connections groundless. Their evaluation supports a Mushki connection to Armenians but rejects a Balkan origin for both, proposing instead a migration from the Late Proto-Indo-European homeland through the Caucasus, with the Mushki settling in the Upper Euphrates region. A link to the Kaska is judged equally plausible, while a Mushki-Georgian connection is deemed unlikely.

Citation checked against the publisher's record on 2026-07-13.