Overview
J2a-Y15720 is a highland-centered downstream lineage within the J2a-M67 cluster and is strongly associated with populations inhabiting the mountainous regions of eastern Anatolia, the Armenian plateau and the northern rim of Mesopotamia. Its early formation corresponds to the stabilization of early Holocene agro-pastoral economies across these upland ecotones, where mixed agriculture, seasonal herding and early metalworking traditions developed in tandem.
Downstream diversification during the Bronze Age reflects integration into the demographic landscape shaped by Kura–Araxes-related societies, Upper Tigris cultural zones and highland polities engaged in trans-mountain exchange. Later continuity through Iron Age and classical highland communities indicates that Y15720 remained embedded in relatively stable, geographically constrained upland settlement systems rather than participating in large-scale coastal or lowland expansions.
Geographic distribution
Armenia, eastern Turkey, northwest Iran, northern Iraq; modest presence in Georgia and low presence in northern Syria.
Ancient DNA
- Bronze Age Armenian plateau individuals exhibit upstream J2a variation compatible with Y15720.
- Chalcolithic Upper Tigris sites contain J2a-M67 diversity aligned with ancestral phases of the clade.
- Eastern Anatolian Bronze Age mortuary contexts show patterns consistent with this lineage.
- Iron Age northern Mesopotamia exhibits downstream derivatives of Y15720.
- Classical highland communities maintain continuity with derivative microbranches.
Phylogeny & subclades
A highland-oriented J2a-M67 lineage, with substructure concentrated in the Armenian plateau and eastern Anatolian uplands.
- Y15720*
- Armenian plateau derivatives
- Upper Tigris microbranches
Notes & context
Y15720 is important for reconstructing highland demographic continuity between the Chalcolithic and Iron Age periods.
References & external links