Overview
J2b-Z41082 is a downstream lineage of J2b-M241 with a demographic axis centered on the southern Balkans, the Aegean region and western Anatolia. Its earliest formation corresponds to the diffusion of early farming groups into southeastern Europe and the establishment of maritime connections along the Adriatic and Aegean.
During the Bronze Age, Z41082 participated in demographic processes linked to Aegean coastal societies, Mycenaean cultural influence and the dynamics of western Anatolian settlement networks. Downstream variation reveals founder effects in Aegean island groups, Adriatic coastal villages and localized riverine communities. Its continuity in Iron Age and classical populations highlights stable regional occupation patterns.
Geographic distribution
Greece, Albania, western Turkey, Bulgaria; minor frequencies in Italy, Cyprus and Montenegro.
Ancient DNA
- Neolithic Balkan individuals show upstream J2b patterns tied to this clade.
- Aegean Bronze Age individuals exhibit J2b-M241 components associated with Z41082.
- Western Anatolian Bronze Age contexts show ancestral continuity.
- Iron Age Balkan coastal sites preserve downstream lineages.
- Classical Greek populations retain derivatives of this branch.
Phylogeny & subclades
A coastal-oriented J2b-M241 lineage with substructure across the Aegean and southern Balkans.
- Z41082*
- Aegean microclades
- Adriatic derivatives
Notes & context
Z41082 is informative for reconstructing population connectivity between the southern Balkans and the Aegean during the Bronze and Iron Ages.
References & external links