Overview
G2a2a1 is used in this atlas as a schematic label for one of the main Near Eastern centered clusters within the M286 defined G2a2a radiation. At the SNP level it corresponds to the set of M286 positive lineages that share a group of trunk mutations such as FGC58126 and FGC58153, which form a coherent branch in high coverage Y trees. These lineages sit downstream of the broader G2a2a node and upstream of smaller derived microclades and represent a persistent paternal layer in parts of Anatolia, the northern Levant and western Iran.
From a demographic perspective, G2a2a1 appears to have emerged during the late Neolithic or early Chalcolithic, after initial G2a farmer expansions were already underway but before the full Bronze Age reshaping of the Near Eastern Y chromosome landscape. It likely formed among agro pastoral communities in the northern Fertile Crescent and adjacent highlands that maintained close contacts with both Anatolian and Iranian cultural spheres. Unlike the massive G2a2b P303 expansions into Europe, G2a2a1 remained primarily a Near Eastern lineage, contributing modest but detectable components to later regional populations.
Geographic distribution
Modern distributions of M286 derived lineages show a broad but uneven pattern stretching from Anatolia and the northern Levant through the southern Caucasus into western Iran. Survey work in Anatolia and the eastern Mediterranean has identified G M286 at low but non trivial frequencies, often in combination with other G2a branches and J and R lineages, which suggests a long standing presence in local paternal gene pools rather than a single recent founder event. Population genetic studies of the central and southern Italian coasts, the Balkans and some island populations also report scattered M286 cases, likely reflecting secondary movements from the eastern Mediterranean.
Within this atlas, G2a2a1 is used to group Near Eastern centered M286 lineages that form the deeper trunk of the clade, as distinct from more western Mediterranean biased subsets grouped under G2a2a2. Its geographic profile helps explain why M286 appears in both Near Eastern and Mediterranean contexts while remaining rare among classic central European Neolithic farmer samples.
Ancient DNA
- High coverage Neolithic and Chalcolithic genomes from the northern Levant and Anatolia occasionally show M286 related signatures, although current coverage often does not allow precise placement within the G2a2a tree.
- Mediterranean aDNA syntheses note the presence of G M286 among Neolithic and later samples in the central and eastern Mediterranean, consistent with a Near Eastern origin followed by coastal dispersal.
- Several published Y marker panels in Chalcolithic and Bronze Age Near Eastern contexts report M286 positive individuals, suggesting that G2a2a1 or its close relatives persisted through multiple cultural transitions.
Phylogeny & subclades
Within G2a2a, the M286 trunk splits into a small number of branches that in high resolution trees are labeled by markers such as Y84562 and FGC58133. G2a2a1 in this atlas corresponds to the Near Eastern oriented side of this structure, anchored by trunk mutations like FGC58126 and its companions. Downstream of this layer, additional local clusters form shallow radiations that may be restricted to particular valleys, islands or ethnic groups. Upstream, G2a2a1 is sister to other M286 derived branches that show more western or insular geographic profiles and are grouped here under G2a2a2.
- G2a2a1* basal M286 Near Eastern lineages
- Anatolia centered microclades within the FGC58126 trunk
- Levantine and northern Mesopotamian founder clusters associated with Bronze Age communities
Notes & context
G2a2a1 is not a formal ISOGG or YFull node name but a pragmatic atlas label that groups closely related M286 derived lineages with a shared Near Eastern trunk in order to make the internal structure of G2a2a easier to visualise. It should be interpreted as a cluster summarising several closely allied high coverage branches rather than as a single definitive SNP designation. This approach parallels the treatment of other dense clades in the atlas, where schematic labels are used to connect research tree detail with regional demographic narratives.
References & external links