Overview
J1-FGC10144 is a downstream branch of the highland-rooted J1-Z1828 macrolineage and formed among agro-pastoral communities of the Armenian Highlands, eastern Anatolia and the northern Zagros. These groups practiced high-altitude transhumance, maintained valley-based agricultural systems and participated in early metallurgical traditions that contributed to the rise of the Kura-Araxes cultural horizon. Settlement patterns often included fortified hilltop structures and interconnected upland communities. Throughout the Bronze and Iron Ages, populations carrying FGC10144 remained geographically anchored within mountainous zones that promoted demographic continuity. The lineage's downstream topology displays localized microclades shaped by long-term ecological isolation. Medieval highland populations continued to preserve derivative subbranches, underscoring the deep-rooted continuity of this lineage in upland West Asia.