A · BT · CT · CF · F · J · J1-M267 · J1-P58 · J1-L147.1 · J1-ZS702

Haplogroup J1-ZS702

Macro-haplogroup
J
Parent clade
J1-L147.1
Formed (estimate)
c. 4,900 to 6,400 years before present
TMRCA (estimate)
c. 1,600 to 2,400 years ago

Overview

J1-ZS702 is a downstream lineage within the major J1-L147.1 expansion, characterized by its Arabian origin and later diffusion across the desert-steppe interface linking Arabia, the Levant and Mesopotamia. Its ancestral populations emerged during the late Neolithic through early Bronze Age transition, a period marked by increasing pastoral specialization and the creation of sustained mobility networks centered on desert wells, wadis and caravan corridors. By the Bronze and Iron Ages, ZS702-bearing groups had become part of emerging North Arabian tribal structures. Their downstream phylogenetic signatures show founder effects linked to distinct clans operating across the Hejaz, northern Arabia and the southern Levant. Some derived branches later appear in historical contexts associated with early Arabic-speaking groups during the first millennium CE.

Geographic distribution

Most common in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Iraq; moderate in Syria, Kuwait and the Gulf; rare in Egypt and Iran.

Ancient DNA

  • Bronze Age Levant samples reveal J1-P58 diversity compatible with ancestral ZS702.
  • Iron Age North Arabian individuals display branching patterns related to ZS702 development.
  • Early Islamic frontier burials include downstream ZS702 microclades.

Phylogeny & subclades

A structured J1-L147.1 branch defined by Arabian plateau mobility and regionally anchored tribal expansions.

  • ZS702*
  • Hejaz branches
  • Levantine and Mesopotamian derivatives

Notes & context

A lineage important for understanding early North Arabian tribal formation and desert frontier demographic processes.