Overview
G-FGC5102 is a mid level branch of the Anatolian G-M406 radiation that appears to have formed during the early Chalcolithic, with its main expansion occurring during Bronze Age population reorganizations in the Near East. The lineage shows characteristics typical of groups inhabiting central Anatolia and the northern Levant. Archaeogenetic modelling suggests that FGC5102 derives from a population well integrated into early metallurgical networks that linked central Anatolia, Cilicia, northern Syria and the upper Euphrates basin.
This branch is noteworthy because its structure reveals repeated regional founder effects that correspond with Bronze Age settlement cycles, especially in regions where fortified hilltop communities and early urban centers emerged. The distribution of its subclades indicates that the lineage remained primarily Near Eastern and Mediterranean rather than participating heavily in large scale European expansions.
Geographic distribution
Modern carriers of G2a2b1a4 are most common in Turkey, northern Syria, the Levant, and parts of Armenia. The lineage appears in modest numbers across Mediterranean populations such as southern Italy, the Aegean islands and coastal Greece. It is comparatively rare further west in Europe. The geographic pattern strongly associates FGC5102 with Bronze Age and Iron Age societies that maintained dense cultural and trade networks across the eastern Mediterranean but did not undergo major northward or westward migrations.
Ancient DNA
- Archaic Bronze Age individuals from central Anatolia show genetic profiles consistent with basal FGC5102 ancestry, although direct SNP resolution remains pending in published datasets.
- Several Late Bronze Age and Iron Age samples from the northern Levant show marker combinations aligned with proto FGC5102 branches.
- Roman era individuals from the eastern Mediterranean occasionally display downstream markers suggesting FGC5102 lineage persistence during classical times.
Phylogeny & subclades
FGC5102 sits below FGC5089 and parallel to well documented European offshoots such as L14. It forms a set of regionally organized subbranches with limited internal divergence. The internal topology suggests multiple localized founder events, likely tied to Bronze Age village clusters and early Iron Age fortified settlements in the northern Levant and Anatolia.
- G-FGC5102* basal Near Eastern branch
- southern Anatolian microclades
- northern Levant derived clusters
- Aegean coastal microbranches reflecting later maritime diffusion
Notes & context
G-FGC5102 enhances the atlas by representing a lineage that remained predominantly eastern Mediterranean and Near Eastern throughout its history, offering valuable contrast to European oriented M406 branches.
References & external links