Overview
J1-FGC9608 is a downstream element of the highland-oriented J1-Z1828 lineage and developed among early agro-pastoral communities inhabiting the Armenian Highlands, the northern Zagros and eastern Anatolia. These populations utilized upland grazing systems, valley-based agricultural plots and fortified hilltop settlements. Their material culture and economic networks contributed directly to the cultural transformations associated with the Kura-Araxes tradition. Throughout the Bronze and Iron Ages, FGC9608-bearing groups remained localized within rugged, mountainous regions where environmental barriers produced stable, geographically anchored microclades. Archaeogenetic continuity in the Armenian plateau and surrounding highlands underscores the long-term persistence of this lineage across millennia. Medieval remains further confirm its rootedness in upland ecozones.