Overview
J2a-Y18739 is a downstream highland-centered lineage under J2a-M67 with a demographic focus in the eastern Anatolian uplands, Armenian plateau and northern Mesopotamian transition zones. Its earliest diversification corresponds to middle Holocene agro pastoral communities occupying the upland river systems of the Upper Tigris basin, where early farming groups gradually merged with Chalcolithic metallurgical societies. Archaeological contexts associated with this period include fortified hilltop settlements, obsidian corridor exchange networks and stable upland agro pastoral economies. During the Bronze Age, Y18739 bearing groups were integrated into highland population systems associated with the Kura Araxes phenomenon and the development of regionally specialized metalworking centers. The clade shows strong persistence in upland environments, reflecting demographic continuity from the Chalcolithic through the Iron Age and into classical era highland polities.