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Haplogroup N-Z4747

N-Z4747 (Finnic N3a4 cluster)

Macro-haplogroup
K
Parent clade
N1a1a
Formed (estimate)
c. 2,000–2,300 years before present
TMRCA (estimate)
c. 1,700–1,900 years ago

Overview

Haplogroup N-Z4747 is one of the three principal sister branches that split directly under the major Finnic N-Z1936 cluster, alongside N-Z1937 and N-Z1941. Genetic analyses place its formation near the beginning of the first millennium CE, a period corresponding to the emergence of distinct regional identities among early Finnic-speaking populations in northeastern Europe. Z4747 is phylogenetically central: it sits at the junction where Finnic paternal lines differentiated into distinct regional communities while retaining a shared deeper ancestry. The branch is not as numerous as Z1937 or Z1939 but is present across a broad area, making it a marker of older, less localized Finnic strata.

Geographic distribution

Modern carriers of N-Z4747 appear across Finland, Karelia, Ingrian areas, and in the White Sea coastal zone. It occurs less frequently than the downstream branches but is widely geographically distributed, indicating that Z4747 reflects an earlier demographic layer that predated later localized expansions. Small but consistent frequencies appear in Estonia and among Finnish diaspora communities in Scandinavia and North America. Its broad yet low-frequency pattern indicates that Z4747 persisted through several demographic transitions without undergoing extreme founder effects.

Ancient DNA

  • Finnic-focused genome studies identify N-Z4747 as part of a triad of early Finnic expansions alongside Z1937 and Z1941, each dating to roughly 1.7–2 thousand years ago.
  • The branch’s age corresponds to archaeological phases showing population consolidation around the eastern Baltic, Ladoga–Onega lake systems, and the White Sea hinterland.
  • Ancient individuals carrying upstream N3a4 lineages in the eastern Baltic cluster closest to the ancestral node of Z4747.

Phylogeny & subclades

In N-M178 phylogenies, Z4747 forms a sister group to Z1937 and Z1941 under the N-Z1936 root. It branches before the formation of younger regional clusters and shows limited downstream radiation. This pattern is consistent with a lineage that survived as a stable, widely distributed component of early Finnic ancestry but did not undergo rapid founder-driven expansions.

  • N-Z4747* (basal Finnic form)
  • Minor regional clusters in eastern Finland and Karelia

Notes & context

N-Z4747 is an essential branch for representing early Finnic paternal structure because it predates the stronger founder effects that shaped much of the later Y-chromosomal landscape of Finland and Karelia.