haplogroups.info
Y-DNA Haplogroup Atlas

A · BT · CT · CF · F · I · I1 · I1-Z59 · I1-Z60 · I1-Z61

Haplogroup I1-Z61

I1-Z61 Central European branch

Macro-haplogroup
I
Parent clade
I1-Z60
Formed (estimate)
c. 3,800-4,300 years before present (estimate)
TMRCA (estimate)
c. 2,000-2,500 years ago (estimate)

Overview

I1-Z61 is a central European branch of the I1-Z60 lineage that arose among early Iron Age Germanic populations of the interior North European plain. Its emergence reflects demographic growth in inland communities along the Elbe, Weser and upper Rhine river systems. Z61 provides an important internal subdivision within the Z59-Z60 complex, capturing lineages that were less directly maritime oriented than some North Sea coastal branches but still connected to the wider Germanic world.

Geographic distribution

Today, I1-Z61 is found primarily in Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland and the Low Countries, with additional representation in Denmark and Poland. Lower but non-trivial frequencies occur in Britain, especially in areas with strong historical links to continental Germanic settlement. Occasional presence elsewhere in Europe and in diaspora populations reflects later mobility.

Ancient DNA

  • Late Bronze Age and Iron Age burials in central and southern Germany show I1 lineages positioned near the Z60-Z61 portion of the tree.
  • Germanic tribal period cemeteries along the upper and middle Rhine include males whose haplotypes best fit the early Z61 radiation.
  • Anglo-Saxon period remains in England sometimes cluster with central European rather than strictly coastal North Sea I1, consistent with lineages like Z61.

Phylogeny & subclades

I1-Z61 is a downstream derivative of I1-Z60 and is defined by the SNP Z61. It forms several smaller regional clusters that tend to align with central European landscapes and river corridors. While not as expansive as some other continental branches, its internal structure is informative for reconstructing population history in the upper Rhine and central Germanic zones.

  • I1-Z61* basal central European lineages
  • Regional central German and Alpine microclades

Notes & context

I1-Z61 is useful for distinguishing central European strands of the Z59-Z60 expansion from more strongly North Sea-facing components. It often appears in genetic genealogy projects focusing on German, Swiss and central European ancestry.