A · BT · CT · CF · F · J · J1-M267 · J1-P58 · J1-Y6521

Haplogroup J1-Y6521

Macro-haplogroup
J
Parent clade
J1-P58
Formed (estimate)
c. 4,400 to 5,900 years before present
TMRCA (estimate)
c. 900 to 1,600 years ago

Overview

J1-Y6521 is a downstream branch of the Arabian-centered J1-P58 expansion and likely originated among pastoralist communities spread across the northern and central Arabian Peninsula during the early Bronze Age. These ancestral groups lived around wells, seasonal wadis and oasis-linked corridors that supported short-range pastoral mobility. Their mobility networks connected the Hejaz, southern Jordan and the northern desert belt, shaping early demographic structures associated with North Arabian tribal formation. During the Bronze and Iron Ages, Y6521-bearing populations participated in the growth of tribal confederations occupying the Hejaz and Wadi Sirhan. Downstream patterns reveal several founder-driven expansions tied to clan-based structures. In the early Islamic period, Y6521 lineages expanded eastward into Iraq and the Gulf region, where new microbranches formed through localized demographic growth.

Geographic distribution

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

Ancient DNA

  • Bronze Age Levant individuals display upstream J1-P58 ancestry consistent with proto Y6521.
  • Iron Age Arabian desert frontier samples show divergence patterns aligned with early Y6521.
  • Early Islamic Hejaz burials preserve downstream Y6521 microclades.

Phylogeny & subclades

A structured J1-P58 lineage shaped by desert pastoralism, localized founder events and early tribal demographic growth.

  • Y6521*
  • Hejaz clusters
  • Northern Arabian offshoots

Notes & context

A lineage relevant to the demographic evolution of early North Arabian tribal societies.