Overview
J2a-PF5008 is one of the deepest and most structurally important trunks within the J2a-M410 radiation. It captures a major portion of lineages that were historically classified as J2a* in earlier, lower-resolution studies and therefore represents the ancestral backbone from which much of present-day J2a diversity descends. Phylogenetic reconstructions based on high-coverage SNP data indicate that PF5008 formed in the Late Upper Paleolithic, with a time depth on the order of ~19,000–20,000 years, and that its internal diversification began during the first half of the Holocene. This places its emergence among forager populations inhabiting the northern Fertile Crescent, the Iranian Plateau margin and adjacent parts of Anatolia and the South Caucasus.
Unlike individual downstream clades that are tied to specific later cultural horizons, PF5008 represents a broad ancestral pool. Early carriers were likely small, regionally connected groups whose demographic expansions were modest until the onset of agriculture and the subsequent Neolithic and Chalcolithic transformations. As Neolithic lifeways spread from central and eastern Anatolia, the Zagros and northern Mesopotamia toward Europe, the Caucasus, Iran and South Asia, PF5008-bearing lineages acted as a foundational paternal substrate for multiple derivative J2a branches. The backbone nature of PF5008 means that its descendants now extend across large parts of West Eurasia, even though basal PF5008* itself is rare.
Geographic distribution
Modern data from Y-chromosome sequencing and project-based sampling show that J2a-PF5008 and its immediate derivatives are distributed across a wide arc from the eastern Mediterranean to Central and South Asia. Basal and near-basal PF5008 lineages appear in Iran, the South Caucasus, eastern Anatolia and northern Mesopotamia, matching expectations for a northern Fertile Crescent / Iranian Plateau origin. Downstream clusters have been reported in Greece, the Balkans, the Levant, Egypt, the Arabian Peninsula, the Caucasus, Central Asia and the northwestern Indian subcontinent. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}
In Europe, PF5008-derived lineages occur at low to moderate frequencies along the Aegean and Adriatic coasts, in southern Italy and Sicily, and in parts of the Balkans, often overlapping with regions that received substantial Neolithic and later Near Eastern input. In South Asia, PF5008 descendants are found in Pakistan and northwest India, where they form part of the wider J2a signal linked to both Neolithic Iranian-related ancestry and later historical connections. In the Levant and Egypt, PF5008-derived branches appear at low frequencies and usually co-exist with other J2a clusters such as L24 and M67, reflecting multiple waves of J2a-bearing gene flow.
Ancient DNA
- Early Neolithic individuals from the Zagros region (e.g., Ganj Dareh) and the central Iranian Plateau carry J2a lineages that phylogenetically sit close to the PF5008/L26 backbone, underscoring its role in the earliest farming communities east of Mesopotamia.
- Neolithic and Chalcolithic individuals from central Anatolia and the northern Fertile Crescent show J2a chromosomes that, in modern trees, fall under or near the PF5008-defined trunk, suggesting that multiple early farming expansions carried PF5008-related ancestry toward the Aegean and Europe.
- Later Chalcolithic and Bronze Age populations in the Caucasus and northwestern Iran carry J2a lineages that branch under the main PF5008 and L26 structure, contributing to the paternal background of Kura–Araxes and related cultural horizons.
- Bronze and Iron Age individuals from the eastern Mediterranean occasionally exhibit J2a signatures that align with PF5008-descended branches rather than more narrowly Mediterranean-specific clades, pointing to long-range connectivity from the northern Fertile Crescent.
Phylogeny & subclades
In high-resolution trees, J2a-PF5008 appears as a major early bifurcation under the J2a-L26 / J2a-M410 framework. Molecular-clock based estimates give PF5008 a formation age close to ~19,000 years before present, with internal diversification beginning around 16–18 kya. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1} The PF5008 node splits into several large sub-branches, some of which show strong geographic affinities (for example, lineages centered in Iran and Central Asia, the eastern Mediterranean and the Caucasus). Many early studies that simply reported “J2a*” without finer resolution almost certainly encompassed PF5008-derived lineages.
Functionally, PF5008 can be thought of as one of the core ancestral structural beams of J2a: L26 and PF5008 together define an ancient backbone from which multiple historically significant J2a clades (including some Mediterranean- and South Asian-focused branches) have emerged. As the J2 phylogeny continues to be refined, PF5008 helps anchor the relationship between Anatolian/Zagros Neolithic populations and later dispersals toward Europe, the Caucasus and beyond.
- J2a-PF5008* (rare basal lineages, mostly Iranian and Caucasus-centered)
- PF5008 > MF10501 and related highland-associated branches in Iran, the Caucasus and Central Asia
- PF5008 > Y182822 and downstream Mediterranean–Levantine and South Asian clusters
- Minor PF5008-derived branches in Europe and the eastern Mediterranean with low but widespread frequencies
Notes & context
J2a-PF5008 is indispensable for interpreting older literature that uses coarse labels such as J2a* or J2a(xM67,M92,M47) and similar formulations. Many of those unresolved chromosomes likely belong to PF5008-related lineages. In this atlas, PF5008 is treated as a major macro-backbone under J2a, providing context for both highland Iranian / Zagros Neolithic ancestries and the later waves of J2a-mediated gene flow that reshaped the paternal landscape of Europe, the Near East and South Asia.
References & external links