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Y-DNA Haplogroup Atlas

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Haplogroup G2a4

G-Z3423

Macro-haplogroup
G
Parent clade
G2a
Formed (estimate)
c. 12,000–15,000 years before present
TMRCA (estimate)
c. 7,000–9,000 years ago

Overview

G2a4 is another upstream-to-midstream branch within the G2a radiation, bridging basal G2a diversity with the more expansive G2a2 (Neolithic-associated) lineages. Its presence in the Near East and South Caucasus suggests it formed during a period of increasing sedentism, early domestication practices and intensifying inter-regional cultural connections between the Zagros and Anatolia. Unlike G2a2, G2a4 did not participate significantly in the large-scale migration events into Europe. Instead, it remained part of the localized paternal structure within the West Asian highlands, where populations experienced long-term continuity across the Holocene.

Geographic distribution

G2a4 appears in small numbers among individuals from Armenia, Georgia, eastern Turkey, northern Iraq and western Iran. Its geographic pattern mirrors early Holocene refugial continuity rather than migration-driven expansion. In Europe, it is virtually absent. Some rare individuals from the Levant and Arabia have been found within G2a4 or near its basal nodes, likely reflecting later secondary movements.

Ancient DNA

  • Proto-G2a4 markers appear in a few early Holocene highland genomes from eastern Anatolia and the Armenian Highlands.
  • Possible ancestral branches appear among later Pre-Pottery Neolithic individuals from the northern Fertile Crescent.
  • No confirmed European ancient G2a4 representatives exist.

Phylogeny & subclades

G2a4 forms a small set of WGS-resolved microclades with tight geographic clustering in the Caucasus–Zagros–Anatolia region. Its phylogenetic depth is intermediate between the earliest G2a branches and the massive G2a2 expansions. The lineage likely experienced slow, steady diversification among small highland communities.

  • G2a4* basal
  • Armenian–Anatolian microclades
  • Zagros regional branches

Notes & context

G2a4 is essential for illustrating the ‘silent layers’ of West Asian paternal ancestry that did not take part in Europe’s Neolithic but shaped the genetic complexity of early Near Eastern societies. It fleshes out the understudied internal architecture of the G2a radiation.