Overview
J2a-PH1751 is a major daughter clade under the important highland-associated branch J2a-Z6065, itself a signature lineage of eastern Anatolia, northern Mesopotamia and the Armenian Highlands. PH1751 represents one of the earliest structural subdivisions of Z6065, marking a demographic shift from forager–horticulturalist communities of the early Holocene into larger, more complex agro-pastoral village networks characteristic of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic and early Pottery Neolithic horizons. PH1751’s deep history places it at the heart of important cultural transformations involving obsidian trade, early metallurgy precursors and the spread of pastoral mobility systems.
Geographic distribution
PH1751-derived lineages concentrate heavily across the region from eastern Turkey and northern Syria through the Armenian Highlands and the South Caucasus. Additional distribution extends into Iraq, western Iran, Cyprus, Greece, the Aegean and parts of the Balkans. PH1751 shows notable frequencies among communities with long-term settlement continuity in upland basins such as Van, Muş, Erzurum, Kars and Syunik. Its Mediterranean dispersal appears to have been driven by both Anatolian Neolithic expansions and later Bronze Age maritime networks.
Ancient DNA
- Late Neolithic sites in eastern Anatolia show J2a lineages that modern phylogenies place near PH1751’s upstream branches.
- Early Chalcolithic Caucasus individuals associated with Shulaveri–Shomu and Kura–Araxes horizons show affinity to PH1751-related Y-chromosomes.
- Bronze Age Aegean individuals exhibit J2a signals matching branches descending from the larger Z6065 > PH1751 framework.
- Iron Age populations in eastern Anatolia and the Caucasus retain PH1751-related paternal continuity, indicating long-term regional persistence.
Phylogeny & subclades
PH1751 sits under J2a-Z6065, one of the most structured mountain-oriented J2a trunks. It represents a major inland Anatolian–Caucasian expansion node from which several geographically coherent downstream branches emerged. Some PH1751 subclades are strongly tied to the Armenian Highlands and northeast Anatolia, while others pivot toward the Levant or Aegean. Its role in the demographic background of early highland agro-pastoral societies makes it central in reconstructing regional Bronze Age expansions.
- PH1751* (basal eastern Anatolian–Armenian clusters)
- PH1751 > Caucasus-oriented branches
- PH1751 > Aegean and eastern Mediterranean microclades
- PH1751 > northern Mesopotamian downstream clusters
Notes & context
J2a-PH1751 helps define the deep agricultural and metallurgical history of the highlands spanning eastern Anatolia to Armenia. Its downstream width explains part of the diversity seen today among Anatolian, Kurdish, Armenian and Caucasus populations. In many research trees, PH1751 is considered a key marker for tracking upland demographic continuity across several millennia.
References & external links