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Y-DNA Haplogroup Atlas

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Haplogroup I2c5

I2-Y60281

Macro-haplogroup
I
Parent clade
I2c
Formed (estimate)
c. 18,000–24,000 years before present
TMRCA (estimate)
c. 9,000–12,000 years ago

Overview

I2c5 (Y60281) is a deeply diverging Near Eastern branch of I2c preserved in small populations across the Zagros Mountains and southern Caucasus region. It likely descends from isolated refugial groups that persisted through the Late Upper Paleolithic. The clade shows minimal downstream expansion, reflecting long-term survival in geographically fragmented highland ecologies.

Geographic distribution

Today, I2c5 appears at very low frequencies in western Iran, northern Iraq, eastern Turkey and parts of Armenia. Its distribution mirrors mountainous refugial zones and is consistent with ancient continuity rather than recent migration.

Ancient DNA

  • Upper Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic samples from the Zagros foothills show upstream I2c signals compatible with early I2c5 divergence.
  • Neolithic sites in Iranian Kurdistan contain paternal lineages near the Y60283 phylogenetic position.
  • Chalcolithic individuals from the southern Caucasus exhibit deep I-related ancestry corresponding to the I2c complex.

Phylogeny & subclades

I2c5 is a downstream branch of I2c alongside I2c1–4. SNPs Y60281, Y60283 and BY18550 define the clade. It shows extremely shallow internal branching, typical for lineages that remained within small highland populations for millennia.

  • I2-Y60283
  • I2-BY18550
  • Basal I2c5*

Notes & context

I2c5 contributes critical phylogenetic information about refugial paternal structure in the Near East. Its persistence highlights population continuity across climatic and cultural transitions.