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Y-DNA Haplogroup Atlas

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Haplogroup N-B187

N1b (B187), upstream ancestor of N-B170

Macro-haplogroup
K
Parent clade
N1b
Formed (estimate)
c. 12,000 - 16,000 years before present
TMRCA (estimate)
c. 7,000 - 10,000 years ago

Overview

N-B187 represents the principal upstream branch of the N1b lineage, forming a direct ancestral trunk to the well-known N-B170 cluster. While N-B170 dominates among Yakut and related communities, N-B187 is the older phylogenetic base from which that expansion ultimately emerged. Genetic data places B187-bearing individuals in the late Pleistocene and early Holocene forest-steppe systems of northeastern Siberia, where climatic fluctuations and mobility among hunter-fisher groups shaped the demographic environment. The deeper age of B187 compared to B170 suggests a long-standing paternal substrate that predated the formation of historically documented populations and reflects broader ancestral diversity within the N1b complex.

Geographic distribution

Modern occurrences of N-B187 are rare but appear among populations of eastern Siberia including Evenks, Evens, and isolated Yakut families. Its wide but sparse distribution indicates that B187 predates the ethnogenesis of modern Siberian groups. The lineage is also recorded in small numbers in the Kolyma region, the upper Aldan basin and parts of the Amur watershed, aligning with prehistoric migration corridors linking northern forest ecosystems with mountain-foot zones.

Ancient DNA

  • Ancient Y chromosomes from early Holocene Baikal and Lena Basin individuals show patterns compatible with B187, distinguishing them from downstream B170-rich Yakut expansions.
  • Genomic material from pre-Iron Age northeastern Siberia presents N-lineage haplotypes positioned phylogenetically between basal N1b and the later Yakut-associated B170 cluster.
  • Radiocarbon-dated individuals from forest-tundra archaeological sites carry upstream N1b markers that most closely align with reconstructed B187 variation.

Phylogeny & subclades

Within the N1b structure, B187 is the ancestral branch upstream of B170. From this node, further downstream diversification produced the B170 mutation that today defines the majority of Yakut paternal ancestry. N-B187 retains deeper internal diversity than B170 and therefore preserves information about early Holocene demographic structure that is lost in the heavily bottlenecked N-B170 branch.

  • N-B187* (ancestral Siberian lineage)
  • Minor subbranches among Tungusic and Paleo-Siberian individuals

Notes & context

N-B187 is essential for understanding the deeper population history behind the Yakut-associated N-B170 expansion. It confirms that the paternal ancestry of eastern Siberia was more diverse before the major medieval founder events, and it highlights the complex interplay of early Holocene ecological niches, migration corridors and cultural transitions.