Overview
J2a-Y19744 is a downstream branch of the J2a-M67 lineage and is associated with upland populations inhabiting the Armenian plateau, eastern Anatolia and the northern Mesopotamian highland belt. Its ancestry traces to early Holocene agricultural networks that developed complex terrace farming, orchard cultivation and highland herding strategies. These communities played an important role in obsidian trade, metal experimentation and the development of upland settlement hierarchies centered around fortified tells and mountain basins. During the Bronze Age, populations carrying Y19744 seem to have participated in highland regional systems that facilitated long-distance interaction between the Caucasus, the Zagros and northern Mesopotamia. Archaeogenetic and archaeological indicators support localized founder effects tied to upland basins, volcanic plateaus and river catchment systems. Iron Age and classical upland communities continue to yield paternal lineages compatible with Y19744’s downstream structure, reflecting deep demographic continuity in highland agro-pastoral societies.