Overview
J2b-Z40267 is a downstream branch of J2b-M241 with a demographic center located across the southern Balkans, coastal Greece, the Aegean island network and western Anatolia. Its earliest demographic signals align with mid Holocene expansions of Balkan farming groups combined with the rise of maritime cultural circuits spanning the Aegean basin. Archaeological parallels include late Neolithic Balkan settlements, Chalcolithic island communities and early Bronze Age coastal centers linking Greece, Albania and western Anatolia.
During the Bronze Age, Z40267 bearing groups participated in demographic systems tied to Mycenaean expansion, Adriatic-Aegean exchange routes and coastal Anatolian settlement continuity. Downstream structure indicates strong coastal and island-based founder effects, persisting into the Iron Age and classical Greek periods.
Geographic distribution
Highest in Greece, Albania and western Turkey; moderate in Bulgaria, Cyprus and North Macedonia; lower in southern Italy and the Levant.
Ancient DNA
- Southern Balkan late Neolithic individuals exhibit J2b markers related to early Z40267.
- Aegean Bronze Age burials show variation consistent with upstream forms of the clade.
- Western Anatolian Bronze Age individuals preserve paternal signatures tied to Z40267.
- Iron Age Levantine communities include downstream elements of this lineage.
- Classical Greek sites show demographic continuity with Z40267 derived branches.
Phylogeny & subclades
A Balkan and Aegean centered J2b cluster with strong coastal and island oriented diversification.
- Z40267*
- Aegean coastal branches
- Anatolian derivatives
Notes & context
A major J2b lineage reflecting demographic processes connecting the Balkans, Aegean and western Anatolia during the Bronze and classical eras.
References & external links