A · BT · CT · CF · F · J · J1-M267 · J1-P58 · J1-L147.1 · J1-ZS312

Haplogroup J1-ZS312

Macro-haplogroup
J
Parent clade
J1-L147.1
Formed (estimate)
c. 5,800 to 7,500 years before present
TMRCA (estimate)
c. 2,200 to 3,300 years ago

Overview

J1-ZS312 is a downstream lineage under J1-L147.1, the major internal structure of the Arabian centered P58 radiation. Its formation corresponds to the late Neolithic and early Chalcolithic periods of increasing pastoral specialization and expanding tribal confederations along the Arabian plateau and Syro Arabian desert. Environmental oscillations in aridity and resource availability likely shaped early movements of the lineage. During the Bronze Age and Iron Age, ZS312 bearing communities became part of expanding North Arabian tribal networks that interacted with the Levant, Mesopotamia and the Hijaz. The lineage's downstream structure points to multiple founder effects associated with historically documented tribes, although the genetic divergence predates these lineages by millennia. Its geographic pattern reflects a combination of Arabian plateau expansions and secondary diffusion into the Levant and Mesopotamia.

Geographic distribution

Most common in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq and Kuwait; moderate in Syria and the Levant; sporadic low frequency presence in Egypt, Iran and the Caucasus.

Ancient DNA

  • Bronze Age Levantine samples include J1-P58 structures compatible with proto ZS312 ancestry.
  • Iron Age northern Arabian burials show J1 diversification patterns overlapping with early ZS312 lineages.
  • Early Islamic settlements preserve downstream forms of the clade.

Phylogeny & subclades

A structured J1-L147.1 branch with Arabian centered microclades and several downstream clusters shaped by tribal expansions.

  • ZS312*
  • Arabian plateau segments
  • Levantine derivatives

Notes & context

A representative lineage of early pastoral expansions and Iron Age tribal structures in northern Arabia and the southern Levant.