Overview
J1-ZS3174 is a downstream clade of the Arabian-rooted J1-L147.1 branch, associated with pastoral communities operating across northern Arabia, the Jordanian steppe and the Syrian desert interior. Its early emergence overlaps with mid Holocene climatic conditions that favored the development of long-range herding systems and seasonal desert-upland mobility.
The lineage diversified during the Bronze and Iron Ages as pastoral tribes spread across the northern Arabian corridor. Its downstream subbranches suggest stable occupation of desert margins and involvement in early Arab tribal networks, although its deeper ancestry predates the historically attested tribal formations. Continuity into classical and later populations highlights its long-term presence among desert-oriented pastoral groups.
Geographic distribution
Northern Arabia, Jordan, southern Syria, Iraq; low occurrences in the Levant and central Arabia.
Ancient DNA
- Chalcolithic Levantine samples show upstream J1 variation consistent with ZS3174 ancestry.
- Bronze Age northern Arabian individuals contain related ancestral markers.
- Iron Age Syrian interior sites show downstream Y lineages belonging to this cluster.
- Classical desert communities display continuity with derivative branches.
- Early tribal expansions likely propagated downstream microclades.
Phylogeny & subclades
A northern Arabian and Syrian desert lineage under J1-L147.1 with microbranches tied to pastoral mobility patterns.
- ZS3174*
- northern Arabian microbranches
- desert margin derivatives
Notes & context
ZS3174 is key for reconstructing population movements across the northern Arabian desert corridor.
References & external links