Overview
G2a2b1a39 is a high resolution lineage modeling the paternal continuity of populations inhabiting the Zagros–Upper Mesopotamia convergence zone. This region witnessed some of the earliest developments in agriculture, animal domestication and proto urban settlement systems. The ancestral layer of this lineage fits within the Neolithic–Chalcolithic transitions that shaped the cultural and demographic foundations of the northern Fertile Crescent.
The tmrca corresponds with the Middle Bronze Age, when the region’s sociopolitical landscape was defined by Assyrian precursors, Hurrian interactions, shifting settlement hierarchies and intensified interregional routes. This lineage’s structure indicates persistent mountain–foothill association rather than lowland integration, highlighting its association with long standing upland agro pastoral groups.
Geographic distribution
Modern distributions focus on northern Iraq, western Iran, southeastern Turkey and the Hakkari–Zagros foothill axis. It appears at lower frequencies in Armenia and northeastern Syria. The lineage is extremely rare outside the Near East, reflecting a strong long term geographic confinement to the highland–foothill corridor.
Ancient DNA
- Neolithic and Chalcolithic individuals from the Zagros region show G related markers consistent with the deep ancestry of this lineage.
- Middle Bronze Age individuals from northern Mesopotamia reveal M406 derivatives paralleling early proto structures of Y356991.
- Late Bronze and Iron Age provincial sites in the northern Fertile Crescent show continuity of similar paternal signals, supporting the lineage’s long term local persistence.
Phylogeny & subclades
Y356991 divides into three coherent clades: a Zagros highland core, an upper Mesopotamian valley branch and a transboundary Anatolian microbranch. Divergence timing corresponds with the height of Bronze Age cultural complexity in the region, with demographic signals pointing to fragmented but stable clan rooted groups.
- G-Y356991* Zagros highland basal cluster
- G-Y356991a upper Mesopotamian derivative
- G-Y356991b southeastern Anatolia transitional line
- G-Y356991c minor Armenia–Iran plateau microbranch
Notes & context
This lineage is important for mapping the early agricultural core zones of the northern Fertile Crescent and the persistent highland communities that retained G derived ancestry across multiple millennia.
References & external links