Overview
J2a-FGC17344 is a downstream lineage of J2a-Z2227 with a demographic orientation anchored in the eastern Mediterranean’s coastal and island zones, particularly Cyprus, the southern Aegean islands and the southwestern Anatolian shoreline. Its emergence corresponds to middle Holocene maritime populations that established early agricultural settlements along coastlines while participating in seaborne exchange networks connecting mainland Anatolia, island communities and the Levant.
During the Bronze Age, FGC17344 bearing groups were integrated into the metallurgical, commercial and maritime systems of Cyprus and the Aegean, contributing to demographic expansions associated with early urbanization and intensified seafaring. Its downstream microstructure reflects multiple founder effects in island populations and long-lasting coastal settlement continuity.
Geographic distribution
Most common in Cyprus and coastal southwest Turkey; moderate in the Dodecanese, Crete and mainland Greece; low in the Levant and southern Italy.
Ancient DNA
- Bronze Age Cyprus individuals present patterns compatible with upstream FGC17344.
- Aegean Bronze Age island burials include J2a forms aligned with this clade.
- Southern Anatolian Bronze Age samples carry upstream structures tied to the lineage.
- Classical Mediterranean coastal cities preserve downstream branches.
- Roman island populations show continuity with FGC17344 derived clusters.
Phylogeny & subclades
A maritime oriented J2a-Z2227 lineage dominated by island based microclades and coastal diversification.
- FGC17344*
- Cyprus island clusters
- Southern Aegean derivatives
Notes & context
One of the characteristic island-centered J2a-Z2227 branches linked to Bronze Age maritime population systems.
References & external links