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Y-DNA Haplogroup Atlas

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Haplogroup I2a2c

I2-Y58861

Macro-haplogroup
I
Parent clade
I2a2
Formed (estimate)
c. 6,500–8,000 years before present
TMRCA (estimate)
c. 3,000–3,500 years ago

Overview

I2a2c (Y58861) is a northern European–Scandinavian aligned branch of the I2-M223 radiation. It likely formed during the transition from the Late Neolithic to the Nordic Bronze Age, representing lineages that entered Scandinavia from continental Europe and integrated into early Scandinavian cultural spheres. This clade appears to have taken part in the demographic processes that shaped the paternal landscape prior to the well-known steppe expansions.

Geographic distribution

I2a2c is recorded today mostly in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, with secondary frequencies in northern Germany and the Netherlands. Small but significant pockets appear in Iceland due to later Norse settlement.

Ancient DNA

  • Late Neolithic northern Germany burials include upstream M223 individuals ancestral to Y58861.
  • Scandinavian Bronze Age contexts show paternal components compatible with early I2a2c diversification.
  • Viking Age burials in Norway occasionally cluster near downstream lines of this branch.

Phylogeny & subclades

I2a2c is a distinct northern branch parallel to I2a2a and I2a2b within M223. SNP Y58861 defines the root, while Y58865 and BY1631 represent early downstream differentiation.

  • I2-Y58865
  • I2-BY1631
  • Basal Y58861*

Notes & context

I2a2c is useful for tracing pre-Germanic paternal structure in Scandinavia and understanding early M223 movements toward the north.