The story of R1a-M417

 The story of R1a-M417

The branch M417 is by far the most frequent type of R1a in the world. Thanks to the ancient DNA we know that it expanded with Corded Ware culture. The calculated age (TMRCA) of R1a-M417 is 5500 years. It is close to the Corded Ware culture (CWC) formation age ~ 4900 years ago. CWC was a pastoralist culture which rapidly expanded all over North Europe. In North East Europe it introduced food producing for the first time. Replacing completely local foragers.

Genome wide it was derived from Yamna but over time acquired extra European farmers ancestry ( from GAC culture ) . Mostly via female lines. Which made them more blond and light skin than was Yamna.

So here is the short story of main subclades of R1a-M417. It has three branches

L664 - Today it is a rare lineage in Central and North West Europe. But was more frequent in CWC Central Europe. Absent in Armenia.

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Z283 - This is the most frequent type of R1a in Europe. It reaches especiay high levels among Balto - Slavic and Germanic speakers. It has three subclades.

> - Z284 is mostly found in Scandinavia and Northern Germanic speakers. It was widespread in Battle Axe variant of CWC in Scandinavia

>- Z280 is widespread in East and Central Europe and Balkanes. It was found in Baltic CWC. 

>- M458 Similar distribution to Z280 but more pronounced in Poland. In most likelihood it's origins are in Middle Dnieper region. Both are Balto- Slavic markers.

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Z93 - The oldest case is found in eastern CWC called Fatyanovo - Balanovo. From there it moved to East and South were Sintashta/Andronovo emerged 4200 years ago. Sintashta is famous by it's spooked chariots. An invention usually atribuated to Indo-Iranians.

From there one branch known as R1a-L657 rapidly moved to India where it had a dramatic expansion immediately after the end of Harappan civilisation.

While the Z2124 remained in Central Asia and started to expand in various directions. In East it reached Mongolia where it introduced food production for the first time. Local East Asian foragers who learned the technics of pastoralism from R1a later expanded on its own. And became known as Turkic and Mongolian tribes.

Other branches of R1a Z93 moved to west reaching even Balkanes. They were known as Srubna culture (~1800 bc ). Later in IA another wave reexpanded from modern Kazakhstan who became known as Scythians. And another as Sarmatians And finally some of R1a Z2124 moved to Near East in LBA/IA period. 

Z93 is the most frequent type of R1a in Armenia.