Overview
J2a-Y17011 is a downstream lineage of J2a-M67 with a demographic center concentrated in the eastern Anatolian highlands, the Armenian plateau and northern Mesopotamian upland basins. Its early formation is linked to middle Holocene agro pastoral communities that established enduring settlement clusters in the Upper Tigris watershed and plateau foothills. Archaeological correlations include fortified Chalcolithic sites, early metallurgical localities and obsidian movement networks that tied the highlands to the northern Fertile Crescent.
During the Bronze Age, Y17011 bearing individuals participated in the demographic expansions tied to highland cultural spheres, including the Kura Araxes horizon and later Middle Bronze Age upland polities. The clade's downstream structure suggests long-term persistence in upland communities and continuity through the Iron Age and classical periods.
Geographic distribution
Highest frequencies in Armenia, eastern Turkey and northwest Iran; moderate in northern Iraq and Georgia; lower in the Levant and central Anatolia.
Ancient DNA
- Armenian Bronze Age samples show upstream J2a structures consistent with Y17011.
- Chalcolithic Upper Tigris individuals include forms aligning with early phases of the lineage.
- Eastern Anatolian Bronze Age remains show J2a variants compatible with this clade.
- Iron Age highland populations contain downstream branches.
- Classical upland communities preserve continuity with the lineage.
Phylogeny & subclades
A highland-centered J2a-M67 branch with microclades rooted in eastern Anatolia and the Armenian plateau.
- Y17011*
- Armenian plateau microbranches
- Eastern Anatolian derivatives
Notes & context
A key J2a lineage for reconstructing upland demographic continuity in eastern Anatolia and the Armenian highlands.
References & external links