Overview
I1-BY46694 is a minor but phylogenetically meaningful North Sea coastal branch of haplogroup I1, concentrated in populations historically linked to the Frisian coast, Jutland and the maritime spheres of the early West Germanic world. Its formation corresponds to the consolidation of coastal trading networks in the Late Nordic Bronze Age and early Iron Age, during a period when seafaring communities in the Wadden Sea and Frisian marshlands developed distinct demographic signatures. The lineage likely persisted in relatively small coastal groups whose social structures emphasized continuity rather than large-scale expansions.
Geographic distribution
Modern carriers are primarily found in Friesland (Netherlands), coastal Lower Saxony, Denmark and parts of Schleswig-Holstein. Low frequencies occur in the British Isles due to Anglo-Saxon and Frisian migrations, and in Normandy through later North Sea contact.
Ancient DNA
- Iron Age burials from the Frisian–Lower Saxon wetlands exhibit upstream I1-Z58 haplotypes ancestral to BY46694.
- Early medieval Frisian cemeteries contain lineages phylogenetically adjacent to BY46694.
- Anglo-Saxon era individuals in eastern England show low-level Y51880-related signals tied to this clade.
Phylogeny & subclades
BY46694 branches under the Z58 > Z138 coastal radiation and forms a microclade parallel to BY351, Y7071 and other coastal-oriented I1 lines. BY46694, Y51880 and BY13222 define the clade, which displays shallow internal structure.
- I1-Y51880
- I1-BY13222
- Basal BY46694* coastal lineages
Notes & context
I1-BY46694 offers a fine-scale genetic marker for reconstructing Frisian coastal demography and distinguishing maritime-oriented I1 diversity from more inland continental clades.
References & external links