Overview
J2b-Z40388 is a downstream lineage of J2b-M241 with a demographic center spanning the southern Balkans, the Adriatic region and western Anatolia. Its earliest diversification aligns with the spread of early agricultural communities through the Balkan interior, followed by the appearance of coastal exchange systems along the Aegean and Adriatic during the Chalcolithic period. Archaeological associations include Neolithic Balkan settlements, Aegean maritime nodes and proto-urban western Anatolian towns.
During the Bronze Age, Z40388-bearing groups were integrated into demographic flows connected with Mycenaean mobility, Adriatic interaction spheres and cross-Aegean maritime routes. The downstream structure reveals localized founder effects and sustained demographic continuity in coastal and upland communities of the southern Balkans.
Geographic distribution
Greece, Albania, Macedonia, western Turkey; moderate in Bulgaria and Cyprus; low frequencies in Italy and the Levant.
Ancient DNA
- Southern Balkan Chalcolithic individuals show J2b signals compatible with early Z40388.
- Mycenaean and Aegean Bronze Age burials contain upstream J2b variants tied to this lineage.
- Western Anatolian Bronze Age individuals show continuity with Z40388-bearing populations.
- Iron Age Levantine samples exhibit downstream components of this clade.
- Classical Greek coastal settlements display derived Z40388 variants.
Phylogeny & subclades
A structured Balkan-Aegean branch under J2b-M241 with coastal, upland and western Anatolian microclades.
- Z40388*
- Aegean coastal branches
- Western Anatolian downstream lines
Notes & context
An important lineage for reconstructing Aegean-Balkan interaction patterns during the Bronze and Iron Ages.
References & external links