Overview
J1-FGC8223 is a downstream branch of the highland oriented J1-Z1828 lineage, with a demographic orientation centered on the South Caucasus, eastern Anatolia and the northern Zagros foothills. Its early formation appears connected to agro pastoral populations occupying mountain valleys, upland plateaus and transhumance corridors during the middle Holocene. These communities were part of the broader cultural and demographic processes that also shaped the Kura Araxes horizon. During the Bronze Age, FGC8223 bearing groups became integrated into highland tribal structures and regional socio political systems that connected the South Caucasus with northern Mesopotamia. The clade’s downstream structure shows strong geographic clustering in mountain based populations, reflecting long term demographic stability in environmentally isolated upland settings. Historical and medieval era continuity is evident in several present day Transcaucasian and eastern Anatolian populations.