Y DNA found in post-Urartian period. 600BC - 500AD.

 Y DNA found in post-Urartian period. 600BC - 500AD.

The sample size is small for an accurate picture but it gives an idea what changed in this period compared to the preceding one. J2 increases. R1a appears. R1b and I2 decreases. J1 is Z1842 so it can be from the previous period. Genome wide they are similar to modern Armenians

The most remarkable is the apparition of 2 cases of L1a2. This should not be confused with L1a1 found in Areni cave. Both L1a1 and L1a2 are rare in modern Armenians.

One of L1a2 is in the 3300 year old branch. https://www.yfull.com/tree/L-Y11220/ So its an Iron Age expansion.

There is a modern Armenian and a Georgian who are close to the ancient L1a2 found in Beniamin. There is little doubt that those modern people are related to that ancient person. Where it formed and to what historic event it can be related is unknown. It could have formed somewhere near Kura river. In this case the presence in Chechens is explained. Another possibility is that it came from North Zagros/Mesopotamia. In this case the presence in Arabs is explained. But it's probable that it has a local origin related to Urartu/Biainili.

The other L1a2 from Karmir Blur is in a different branch that is not found yet in modern Armenians.

https://discover.familytreedna.com/y-dna/L-Y6288/tree

It's close to another ancient sample from Iron Age Hasanlu tepe in NW Iran. So there is little doubt that this case of L1a2 has a southern origin in RoA. It can be connected to the increase of Iranian influence in post-Urartian period. Although genome wide there is no evidence of increase of Iran_Neo. Which means that those new haplogroups didn't have a strong demographic impact, which is also visible in their rarity in modern Armenians.

We need much more aDNA from post-Urartian period especially between 600BC-200BC. My feeling is that the theory of Yervanduni (Orontid) dinasty from a region near Musasir in the most southern parts of historic Armenia ( North Zagros ) will find a genetic support. It must be noted that Khorenatsi reports not only Yervand but also Zarehians , Vahunis and others who appear in that period. So its possible we see the apparition of those clans which are not attested in the Urartian period

Ancient DNA from Pontus kingdom and the genetic legacy of Kaskians.

 Ancient DNA from Pontus kingdom and the genetic legacy of Kaskians.

We have Hellenistic and Roman era samples from Samsun in north Turkey. They are interesting because they give an idea about the population of Pontic kingdom and permit to test some theories about Kaskians in general and Tibaren in particularly. The kingdom of Pontus emerged after the collapse of Achaemenid empire and was centered around modern Amasya and Samsun.

Tibarens were a tribe that are mentioned in Greek sources living around modern Ordu (ancient Cotyora ) in antic era. Given that Ordu is close to Samsun ( ~150km ) we can use those aDNA to have an idea about the genetic profile of Western Pontic and Paphlagonia.

The most frequent type is the Samsun_Anc_A. Dated from 177BC to 300AD. They had a typical Anatolian genetic profile. They are more western relative to Amasya_EBA which is in most likelihood related to Greek migrations. Nevertheless Greeks didn't replace completely the local population which has its deep roots in Palaic, Kaskian Paphlagonian and Tibaren periods.

The current data means that the population preceding Greeks was predominantly Anatolian Chl/EBA like which is confirmed by Amasya EBA samples. They lack extra CHG both in EBA and Hellenistic periods. It's worth to note that modern Turkey North cluster also do not have extra CHG.

Steppe ancestry was absent in EBA as in most Anatolia. Later in Hellenistic/Roman period Steppe appears at low level.. The Y dna we have from this period are G, J2 and T1a.

Those results are supporting the idea that Kaskians were local North Anatolian population probably affiliated to Hattic. Tibia was an important Kaskian town from which their king originated. So it's quite possible that Tibarens were simply an offshoot of Kaskians and their name was related to Tibia. In Greek period Tibios was a generic name given to all Paphlagonians.

There was also a single outlier Samsun_Anc_B dated at 170BC with obvious West Caucasian origin. She was not admixed with locals but was buried with them. This means that she migrated in her lifetime. The closest populatipn to her are Svans. She has a very high CHG unusual for that region and even for modern Laz. There was no information about her social status and a special burial type. So she was probably part of that period's main society. Another possibility is that we see here the apparition of Zan tribes (attested as Sannoi). The earliest mentions of terms related to Zan, Sanni and Tsan coincide with this period by Strabo. Although to confirm a migratory theory more samples are needed from more Eastern regions.

PS I also added data from contemporary Central Anatolia (Gordion, Boghazkoy) to have a general idea. Apparently they were more eastern shifted than Samsun A samples. Most probably due to stronger Greek impact on coasts than in inland.