Overview
J1-CTS2906 is a non P58 subclade of J1-M267 that descends from the primarily Levantine and northern Arabian associated branch CTS5368. It appears to have formed among early Holocene highland and steppe margin populations inhabiting the Levantine corridor, northern Jordan, southern Syria and adjoining parts of the Arabian plateau. These communities were integral to the transition from pre pottery Neolithic cultures to more mobile pastoral systems and small scale agro pastoral villages.
By the Bronze Age, CTS2906 bearing groups likely played a role in the tribal and clan structures that linked the Transjordanian highlands, southern Levant and northwestern Arabia. The clade's downstream structure suggests localized expansions connected with the development of regional chiefdoms, caravan routes and later Iron Age kingdoms in the southern Levant. Unlike the larger Arabian centered P58 expansions, CTS2906 remained more geographically constrained, which makes it particularly informative for reconstructing local demographic histories.
Geographic distribution
Today CTS2906 shows peak or notable frequencies in Jordan, Palestine, parts of western Saudi Arabia and southern Syria, with lower level presence in Lebanon and northern Arabia. Scattered occurrences in diaspora populations generally reflect recent migrations from these core regions.
Ancient DNA
- Early Bronze Age southern Levantine individuals show J1 non P58 lineages fitting within the ancestral diversity of CTS5368 and its downstream branches including CTS2906.
- Iron Age Transjordanian and Judean highland samples carry J1-M267 lineages that fall near the non P58 Levantine cluster where CTS2906 is located.
- Classical and late antique cemeteries of the southern Levant maintain continuity with J1 clades related to CTS2906 bearing populations.
Phylogeny & subclades
Within CTS5368, CTS2906 forms one of the Levant centered clusters with several shallow subbranches, consistent with Bronze and Iron Age expansions from a geographically restricted base.
- J1-CTS2906* basal Levantine form
- Transjordanian highland microbranches
- Southern Levant downstream lines
Notes & context
J1-CTS2906 refines the picture of non P58 J1 in the Levant and highlights the existence of regionally stable J1 lineages that did not participate in the later large scale Arabian expansions.
References & external links