A · BT · CT · CF · F · J · J1-M267 · J1-P58 · J1-Y4521

Haplogroup J1-Y4521

Macro-haplogroup
J
Parent clade
J1-P58
Formed (estimate)
c. 5,000 to 6,500 years before present
TMRCA (estimate)
c. 1,500 to 2,300 years ago

Overview

J1-Y4521 is a downstream offshoot of the major Arabian-centered J1-P58 expansion and likely originated among early Bronze Age pastoral communities living along the Syro-Arabian desert frontier. These groups developed mobility systems reliant on seasonal grazing corridors, wells and wadis, forming a key component of the pre-urban tribal substrate that shaped the Hejaz and southern Jordan regions. Archaeological parallels include early caravan-linked stations, fortified oases and campsites associated with copper route communications. By the Bronze and Iron Ages, Y4521-bearing communities were incorporated into rising North Arabian tribal confederations whose mobility patterns facilitated cross-desert trade and cultural exchange. The downstream phylogeny displays multiple microbranches reflecting localized founder events tied to clan structures in the Hejaz, Wadi Sirhan and the Transjordan region. Some segments migrated eastward during the early Islamic era, contributing to the tribal demographics of Mesopotamia and the Gulf.

Geographic distribution

Most common in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Iraq; moderate in Kuwait and Syria; low in Egypt and the Levant.

Ancient DNA

  • Bronze Age Levantine individuals show upstream J1-P58 diversity compatible with proto Y4521.
  • Iron Age North Arabian samples display branching patterns matching early Y4521 formation.
  • Early Islamic Hejazi burials preserve downstream microbranches of the lineage.

Phylogeny & subclades

A structured J1-P58 branch associated with North Arabian tribalization, desert mobility systems and repeated founder events.

  • Y4521*
  • Hejaz branches
  • Transjordan derivatives

Notes & context

A lineage central to understanding early Arabian tribal gene flow and demographic expansions across the desert frontier.