A · BT · CT · CF · F · J · J1-M267 · J1-P58 · J1-Y3923

Haplogroup J1-Y3923

Macro-haplogroup
J
Parent clade
J1-P58
Formed (estimate)
c. 5,400 to 7,100 years before present
TMRCA (estimate)
c. 1,900 to 2,900 years ago

Overview

J1-Y3923 is a downstream lineage of the Arabian-centered J1-P58 expansion, with demographic roots in northern Arabia, southern Jordan and the Syro-Arabian desert fringe during the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age. Its ancestral populations appear to have adopted increasingly specialized pastoral lifeways characterized by seasonal herd movements, oasis-linked subsistence strategies and participation in early trans-desert exchange networks. Archaeological parallels include fortified desert outposts, pastoral camps and proto-caravan tracks along the northern Hejaz and Wadi Sirhan corridor. During the Bronze and Iron Ages, Y3923-bearing groups were embedded within the tribal confederations that formed across the northern Arabian plateau and southern Levant. The clade's downstream patterns reflect multiple founder events tied to clan-based social structures. Its geographic footprint suggests participation in the cultural networks associated with the incense trade, copper routes and early proto-Arabic expansions.

Geographic distribution

Common in northern Saudi Arabia, Jordan and southern Syria; moderate in Iraq and Kuwait; low in Egypt and the Levantine coast.

Ancient DNA

  • Late Bronze Age Levantine individuals show J1-P58 variation consistent with proto Y3923 ancestry.
  • Iron Age North Arabian samples include structures aligned with early Y3923 diversification.
  • Early Islamic era burials in the Hejaz preserve downstream lineages related to Y3923.

Phylogeny & subclades

A structured J1-P58 branch composed of Arabian-centered microclades strongly shaped by pastoral mobility and tribal founder effects.

  • Y3923*
  • Northern Arabian microbranches
  • Transjordanian derivatives

Notes & context

A lineage central to reconstructing the evolution of early North Arabian pastoral tribes during the Bronze and Iron Ages.