Overview
G2a2b1a58 is a downstream branch of the M406 radiation that appears to have its demographic and geographic center in the eastern Aegean and western coastal Anatolia. It represents lineages tied to populations inhabiting the coastal and near-coastal districts opposite the Aegean islands—zones that historically saw heavy Greek, Anatolian and later Byzantine interaction.
The tmrca suggests that the key diversification of this lineage occurred during the classical, Hellenistic and early Byzantine periods, fitting a scenario in which Aegean coastal towns and their agricultural hinterlands experienced recurring but regionally bounded founder events. Unlike lineages associated with long-distance colonization, G2a2b1a58 seems to reflect more local and short-range movements around the eastern Aegean basin.
Geographic distribution
Modern occurrences of G2a2b1a58 cluster along the Aegean coast of Turkey—İzmir, Aydın, Manisa, Balıkesir, Çanakkale—and on neighboring islands such as Lesbos, Chios and Samos. A modest presence in mainland Greece, particularly in communities with documented western Anatolian or island ancestry, mirrors historical population transfers and bidirectional movements across the Aegean.
Isolated instances in Italy and the central Mediterranean likely represent later re-dispersals rather than primary centers of diversification.
Ancient DNA
- Classical and Hellenistic-era burials from western Anatolia and the eastern Aegean show G2a2b1a haplotypes that fit into the Y3372xx phylogenetic neighborhood.
- Roman and Byzantine cemetery samples from the same regions maintain M406-derived paternal continuity through several centuries.
- Genomic reconstructions of Ionian and Aeolian Greek populations often require Anatolian-derived paternal components matching this lineage.
Phylogeny & subclades
G2a2b1a58 is defined by Y337201 and closely linked Y3372xx SNPs. Phylogenetically it forms a mid-level node with several short internal branches, each mapping to coastal versus near-coastal microregions. The structure indicates that, while the lineage did not undergo huge demographic explosions, it achieved a stable presence in multiple neighboring districts of the eastern Aegean area.
- G2a2b1a58* (basal eastern Aegean form)
- G2a2b1a58a (Y337219-linked western Anatolian coastal cluster)
- G2a2b1a58b (Aegean island microbranch)
Notes & context
G2a2b1a58 is especially relevant for modeling the paternal history of the eastern Aegean interface. In ancestry interpretation, membership in this clade typically corresponds to deep roots on either side of the Aegean—western Anatolia or the adjacent Greek islands—within a time frame dominated by Greek and Roman cultural matrices.
References & external links