Overview
J2a-Z7706 is a prominent highland oriented lineage within the J2a-M67 radiation, with a core distribution in northern Mesopotamia, eastern Anatolia and the Armenian plateau. Its formation aligns with the consolidation of early Holocene agro pastoral societies along the upper Tigris and Euphrates valleys. These early communities were closely tied to obsidian trade, early domestication networks and the development of fortified hilltop settlements during the Chalcolithic period. By the Bronze Age, Z7706 bearing populations were deeply embedded in the cultural matrix of the northern Fertile Crescent and adjacent uplands, participating in the spread of the Kura Araxes horizon and later Middle Bronze Age expansions. The lineage shows demographic signatures of continuity in regions that developed into important highland cultural centers throughout antiquity.