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Haplogroup H2

H-P96

Macro-haplogroup

Parent clade

Formed (estimate)

c. 25,000–30,000 years before present

TMRCA (estimate)

c. 10,000–12,000 years before present

P96
L279
Z1434
additional P96 backbone markers

Overview

H2 (P96) is one of the most archaeogenetically important subclades of haplogroup H due to its early branching nature and its direct association with Neolithic expansions into Anatolia, the Levant and southeastern Europe. Unlike H1, which is overwhelmingly South Asian in its distribution and origins, H2 appears to represent an ancient West Eurasian oriented lineage that interacted with early agricultural societies spreading from the Near East. Its presence in early Neolithic contexts suggests that H2 was part of the genetic diversity present among the first farming communities that migrated into Europe. Although rare in modern populations, H2 retains a significant role in understanding early demography. The lineage likely diverged from the larger H cluster before the Holocene and survived in small groups inhabiting the northern Fertile Crescent. With the diffusion of agriculture, its carriers moved into Anatolia and the Balkans, where H2 has been detected in early farmers. Modern distributions, however, show that H2 underwent substantial decline, likely due to later population turnovers across West Eurasia, including steppe related expansions and regional founder effects.

Geographic distribution

H2 is rare today but shows a fragmented distribution. Low frequency occurrences appear in the Levant, Anatolia, the southern Caucasus, parts of Iran and sporadically in southeastern Europe and the Balkans. Its rarity in modern populations is in contrast with its clear archaeogenetic presence in Neolithic genomes from Europe and the Near East. Present day detections of H2 often cluster around mountainous refugia and communities with deep local ancestry, suggesting that small founder lineages survived repeated demographic events. Occasional cases in Western Europe are generally attributed to historical drift or residual traces of Neolithic ancestry.

Ancient DNA

H2 has been identified in Neolithic samples from Anatolia and early European farming contexts.
Genomes from the Pre Pottery Neolithic period show signatures compatible with early P96 lineages.
H2 disappears in most later European archaeological periods, reflecting replacement events linked to steppe associated expansions.

Phylogeny & subclades

H2 sits as a sister branch to H1 and H3. Within H2, substructure is divided into at least two primary trunks: H2a, which appears associated with Neolithic Anatolian and southeastern European populations, and H2b, a more geographically ambiguous but likely Near Eastern rooted cluster. The overall phylogeny is shallow due to limited surviving diversity in modern populations but is archaeologically significant through ancient DNA.

Notes & context