Ancient Iron Age Y DNA from modern North Macedonia. Two outliers are not included. Based on Lazaridis 2022 paper data.
Arame's anthro blog
Tuesday, September 10, 2024
Paeonians Y DNA from ancient North Macedonia
The haplogroup G
The haplogroup G is the third most frequent in Armenia after R1b and J2.
..by evaluating 1472 haplogroup G chromosomes belonging to 98 populations ranging from Europe to Pakistan. Although no basal G-M201* chromosomes were detected in our data set, the homeland of this haplogroup has been estimated to be somewhere nearby eastern Anatolia, Armenia or western Iran, the only areas characterized by the co-presence of deep basal branches as well as the occurrence of high sub-haplogroup diversity. ...
In the last decade ancient DNA supported this homeland theory with a slight shift to more southern regions toward Fertile Crescent.
Three branches are frequent in Armenia.
- G2a2b-M406 more than 3.5%
- G2a2b-P303 around 3%
- G2a2a-PF3147 around 2.5%
- G2a1
- G1 prominent in Hamshen Armenians
- G2b - The genetic history
- Over time there will be reviews about those branches.
Saturday, July 20, 2024
The Genetic History of J2a-Z6065
J2-Z6065 has two important sub-branches:
**Y13341 / FGC15782**: Like most haplotypes that formed in historic Armenia, Z6065 benefited from expansions during the Chalcolithic period, moving westward towards Anatolia. It was found at the Ilipinar site in Anatolia and in the Urmia basin at Dinkha Tepe. However, its most successful expansion began in the Middle Bronze Age (4300 year ago). The subclade Z6065>YP879 was apparently part of the Van-Urmia culture and expanded with it and the affiliated Karmir-berd culture. YP879 was found in the ancient Urartian city of Sardurihinili and in Late Bronze Age Keti, modern Armenia. Today, YP879 constitutes 2.5% of the Y-DNA of modern Armenians.
**Y7687**: This sub-branch likely has a similar history to the first one, but its two successful subclades are related to different events. The Y7687>Z43661 is probably related to Bronze Age Anatolia, and there is a strong possibility that it was a Hittite-Luwian branch. Ancient DNA from the Bronze Age Anatolian site in Ovaoren supports this theory. This branch is well represented in Turkey and Armenia.
M47 has a very different distribution, being prevalent among Gulf Arabs and Iranians. M47 expanded during the Bronze Age but also has more recent expansions. The historic events related to this expansion are unknown due to the absence of ancient DNA. One possible theory is that it was initially a Kassite lineage that later became part of Iranian tribes and Semites.
The J2 haplogroup has a complex structure.
The J2 haplogroup has a complex structure. For those who want to understand it better here is a tree made by Rozhansky more than 6 years ago. We have already four detailed topics related to each major subbranch. Top four of most popular J2 branches in Armenia.
- +Z6049 found in Caucasian hunters. Popular today in Caucasus. A review about one of its subclade.
- +PF5197 found in India, Iran and Gulf region. Also, in ancient Neolithic Armenia.
- +M319 Popular in ancient Crete in Minoans. But also, in Eneolithic steppe.
Sunday, June 23, 2024
Ancient Kartvelians and the Formation of Iberia
The possible steppe connection and Indo-European affiliation of the Trialeti-Vanadzor culture has been known for a long time. However, its partial presence in the lands which in antiquity became known as Iberia and Caucasian Albania was a hindrance to accepting and promoting that theory. Today, ancient DNA allows us to better understand population shifts in the past and resolves these apparent contradictions.
Saturday, June 15, 2024
Remarks on Skourtanioti 2024 paper on the Genetic History of South Caucasus
This is the first paper with a large number of ancient DNA samples from Georgia. The bulk of them are from eastern Georgia, within the Kur-Araxian basin, which permitted the authors to compare the genetic histories of modern Armenia and Georgia. The time transect starts from the Early Bronze Age and the Kura-Araxes culture. Genome-wide, the Kura-Araxes samples from eastern Georgia are similar to those found in Armenia. The Y-DNA of all three samples is J1 (Z1842). We now have 12 Y-DNA samples from Kura-Araxes, and 9 of them (75%) are J1, which further reinforces the idea that J1-Z1842 expanded with the Kura-Araxes culture and was probably the most important Y-DNA in the northeastern parts of the Kura-Araxes horizon.
Monday, June 3, 2024
Two different stories in Anatolia
After the Neolithic period migrations from east changed the genetic landscape of plain Anatolia. Those migrations were not an one time event but two major events dated to different periods. It must be noted that in the current state of archaeologic knowledge there are no Neolithic sites in northern Anatolia. Food producing appear there in the Chalcolithic period which starts after the 5800 BCE. See the dividing line on the map.