Overview
G2a2b1a2 (G M3302) is a key Anatolian M406 sublineage that appears to have formed in central Anatolia during the late Neolithic and early Chalcolithic. Time estimates suggest that its founding ancestor lived around 6200 BCE, at the moment when copper working and more complex village structures were emerging in inner Anatolia. Ancient DNA from Çamlıbel Tarlası confirms that M3302 was already present in Late Chalcolithic communities in north central Anatolia that stood close to the later Hittite core area. :contentReference[oaicite:7]{index=7}
From this core, M3302 participated in a series of expansions that carried its branches around the Black Sea, into the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean, and eventually further into Europe. Today, descendants of M3302 are found in multiple regions that were historically linked by trade, colonization or imperial networks, such as western Anatolia, coastal Syria and Lebanon, Italy, the Balkans, the British Isles and even Shandong in China, where Hui individuals carry a deeply nested M3302 branch that likely reflects historical Silk Road and Islamic period connections. :contentReference[oaicite:8]{index=8}
Geographic distribution
Modern distributions show that M3302 has its deepest roots in Turkey, especially in central and northern Anatolia. It is also found in Armenians in Turkey, in Mountain Jews in Dagestan, and at lower frequencies in other populations of the South Caucasus. :contentReference[oaicite:9]{index=9}
In Europe, M3302 occurs in Italy, particularly in central and southern regions and on islands such as Sardinia. It is present in the Balkans and along the Black Sea coast, for example in Ukraine. Individuals in the United Kingdom and other parts of western Europe also carry M3302, often in lineages that are phylogenetically close to Mediterranean branches, suggesting movement through Roman, Byzantine or later maritime contacts. :contentReference[oaicite:10]{index=10}
Outside the classical Mediterranean world, M3302 is known among Hui Chinese in Shandong Province, where all currently tested men belong to a subbranch that split around 500 BCE. This example demonstrates how an originally Anatolian paternal lineage was later incorporated into eastern Silk Road populations.
Ancient DNA
- The best known M3302 ancient sample comes from Çamlıbel Tarlası in central Anatolia. This Late Chalcolithic individual confirms that G M3302 was present in north central Anatolia by the fourth millennium BCE and that it belonged to communities with intensive copper working and long distance connectivity. :contentReference[oaicite:11]{index=11}
- Several medieval and Byzantine samples from western Anatolia and the Aegean, such as the Stratonikeia individual, have been assigned to M3302 derived branches, specifically to M3422 and downstream clusters. This shows continuity of the lineage in western Anatolia through to the first millennium CE. :contentReference[oaicite:12]{index=12}
- Modern Hui M3302 lines in Shandong Province descend from a subbranch that coalesced around 500 BCE, which is consistent with historic processes that brought West Asian or Near Eastern ancestry into North China, including military colonies, merchant diasporas and Islamic expansions along the Silk Road. :contentReference[oaicite:13]{index=13}
Phylogeny & subclades
Within FGC5089, G2a2b1a2 forms one of the principal radiating branches. YFull shows the main node G M3302 splitting into several internal clades, including G FT56871 and a set of M3422 derived clusters. M3422 then leads to deeper subbranches such as M3240 and M3336, which organize many of the region specific lineages in Anatolia, the Caucasus, Europe and China. :contentReference[oaicite:14]{index=14}
The structure is that of an early Chalcolithic radiation that remained centered in Anatolia but generated multiple offshoots. Some migrated westward into the Aegean and Italy. Others moved north around the Black Sea or eastward along trade and communication routes that eventually led into Central Asia and China.
- G2a2b1a2* M3302 basal, mainly central Anatolian and South Caucasus
- G2a2b1a2a M3422, with further differentiation into M3240, M3336 and several named branches that appear among Armenians in Turkey, Mountain Jews of Dagestan, Italians and British men :contentReference[oaicite:15]{index=15}
- Deep Hui Chinese subclade G M3302 greater than M3422 greater than M3240 greater than M3336 greater than FT203871 greater than FT27194 greater than MF344148, restricted so far to Shandong Province and dated to around the first millennium BCE :contentReference[oaicite:16]{index=16}
Notes & context
G2a2b1a2 is particularly useful for illustrating how an originally Anatolian Chalcolithic lineage can end up with a complex geographic footprint that includes the central Mediterranean, the Black Sea, the British Isles and East Asia. It provides a case study in multi stage dispersal, where early expansions within Anatolia were followed by later historical migrations linked to Greek colonization, Roman rule, medieval trade and Islamic era movements.
References & external links