A · BT · CT · CF · F · J · J1-M267 · J1-P58 · J1-L147.1 · J1-ZS2194

Haplogroup J1-ZS2194

Macro-haplogroup
J
Parent clade
J1-L147.1
Formed (estimate)
c. 4,100 to 5,500 years before present
TMRCA (estimate)
c. 1,000 to 1,500 years ago

Overview

J1-ZS2194 is a downstream subclade of the Arabian-rooted J1-L147.1 macrolineage and formed among pastoral groups occupying northern Arabia and the Hejaz during the early Bronze Age. These populations followed herding cycles that depended on desert wells, seasonal wadis and narrow ecological corridors linking grazing zones. Their demographic signatures align with early tribal configurations that characterized the formative stages of North Arabian societies. During the Bronze and Iron Ages, ZS2194-bearing groups expanded across the Hejaz, Najd and the western Mesopotamian interface. Founder events embedded in the downstream phylogeny indicate long-term clan-based structuring. Early Islamic expansions led to further movement into Iraq and the Gulf, where new microbranches formed under localized demographic pressures.

Geographic distribution

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

Ancient DNA

  • Bronze Age Levant genomes preserve upstream J1-P58 signals consistent with proto ZS2194.
  • Iron Age Arabian frontier burials show patterns compatible with early ZS2194 emergence.
  • Early Islamic Hejaz skeletal material contains downstream ZS2194 subbranches.

Phylogeny & subclades

A J1-L147.1 lineage shaped by desert pastoralism, tribal founder events and long-term demographic stability.

  • ZS2194*
  • Hejaz derivatives
  • Northern Arabian microbranches

Notes & context

A lineage important for reconstructing demographic shifts in early North Arabian tribal networks.