Overview
J2b-Z43328 is a downstream branch within the J2b-M241 lineage linked to the demographic history of the southern Balkans, the Aegean basin and western Anatolia. Its early formation is associated with late Neolithic coastal and river-valley communities that integrated emergent agricultural practices with maritime trade routes spanning the Adriatic, Ionian and Aegean seas. These populations contributed to the expansion of ceramic traditions, metallurgical technologies and early seafaring networks.
By the Bronze Age, Z43328-bearing groups appear across Mycenaean-influenced coastal regions, Aegean island settlements and western Anatolian trade hubs. Its downstream phylogenetic pattern suggests founder effects on specific Aegean islands, southern Balkan valleys and coastal Anatolian plains. Iron Age and classical populations across the southern Balkans and Aegean retain J2b-M241 components compatible with this lineage, indicating long-term continuity in maritime, coastal and riverine demographic structures.
Geographic distribution
Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, western Turkey; lower frequencies in Italy, Cyprus and the Adriatic coastline.
Ancient DNA
- Balkan Neolithic and Chalcolithic individuals display upstream J2b-M241 variants ancestral to this clade.
- Aegean Bronze Age burials contain paternal lineages aligning with the inferred position of Z43328.
- Western Anatolian Bronze Age individuals exhibit upstream J2b components relevant to this lineage’s ancestry.
- Iron Age Aegean and southern Balkan sites preserve J2b signatures compatible with Z43328.
- Classical coastal Greek and Thracian settlements show continuity with downstream microbranches of the clade.
Phylogeny & subclades
A maritime-focused J2b-M241 subclade diversified along southern Balkan river systems, Aegean islands and the Anatolian coast.
- Z43328*
- Aegean island derivatives
- Southern Balkan branches
Notes & context
J2b-Z43328 refines the demographic reconstruction of the Aegean–Balkan–Anatolian interaction sphere from the late Neolithic through the classical era.
References & external links