Are the Karites a Vestige of Something Pre Exile?

I wonder if ithe carite jews were a break off from the rabinic jews after the destruction of the second temple, or if they traced their routs to, like, the essenes. I think that's exactly what scholars have been debating. Was this something that developed in the middle ages, like a little heterodox school of thought, or do they have their roots going back, maybe to the sadducees, to the temple party? It could very well be that the karites are kind of similarto like protestant christians. Or they could pre date rabinic judaism entirely. Are they a vestige of something pre