Overview
J2b-Y21805 is a downstream subclade of J2b-M241 with a demographic axis centered on the southern Balkans, western Anatolia and the Aegean coastal rim. Its early formation aligns with the spread of mid Holocene agricultural populations crossing the Balkan interior and establishing footholds along the Aegean coastline. Archaeological contexts that mirror this lineage include late Neolithic Balkan settlements, Chalcolithic Aegean coastal communities and Bronze Age interaction spheres linking Greece, Albania and western Turkey. During the Bronze Age, Y21805 bearing groups likely took part in Mycenaean era demographic flows and coastal exchange systems. Its downstream diversification reflects founder effects in Balkan coastal populations and subsequent expansions into the Aegean and Anatolia.
Geographic distribution
Highest frequencies appear in Greece, Albania and western Turkey. Moderate levels are found in North Macedonia, coastal Bulgaria, Cyprus and the Levant. Lower frequencies in Italy and the Adriatic represent later maritime expansions.
Ancient DNA
- Neolithic Balkan individuals show J2b profiles compatible with ancestral Y21805.
- Aegean Bronze Age burials carry J2b patterns aligned with upstream Y21805.
- Western Anatolian Bronze Age remains contain J2b variants consistent with this lineage.
- Iron Age Levantine individuals include downstream branches of Y21805.
- Classical and Hellenistic era Aegean sites show continuity with Y21805 derived lines.
Phylogeny & subclades
Y21805 displays several Balkan and Aegean oriented microbranches with additional extensions into western Anatolia. The phylogeny suggests a mixture of coastal mobility and inland valley derived founder effects.
- Y21805* basal Balkan form
- Greek and Aegean coastal branches
- Western Anatolian downstream lines
- Levantine derived clusters
Notes & context
J2b-Y21805 is important for reconstructing demographic and cultural interaction between the Balkans, the Aegean and western Anatolia.
References & external links