Overview
Q-F4674 is a major Andean and western South American branch of the Q-M3 founding lineage. It is strongly associated with populations inhabiting the Andean foothills, the central Andean region and parts of the Pacific slope. The age and geographic structure suggest an early establishment along the Andes corridor, followed by diversification as Andean societies developed complex subsistence strategies and regional polities. Q-F4674 complements the Amazonian oriented Q-Y9032 by representing the sister early expansion of Native American lineages into the Andean sphere.
Geographic distribution
Modern frequencies of Q-F4674 are highest in indigenous populations from Peru, Bolivia and northern Chile. Groups with substantial representation include Quechua and Aymara speakers, along with several Andean highland communities and populations from the Pacific facing western Andean region. Occasional occurrences appear in northern Argentina and coastal Ecuador, consistent with long distance exchange networks of pre Columbian Andean societies.
Ancient DNA
- Ancient DNA from Andean archaeological sites consistently shows Q-M3 derived lineages, and phylogenetic comparison indicates that one of the oldest Andean founding branches corresponds to the F4674 cluster.
- Late Pleistocene and early Holocene individuals from highland Peru and the western Andean foothills show ancestry consistent with a lineage closely related to Q-F4674.
- The clade is compatible with the early Holocene dispersal of foragers into high elevation environments and later integration into pastoral, agricultural and state level societies such as Wari and Inca.
Phylogeny & subclades
Q-F4674 forms a coherent branch under Q-M3 with multiple Andean specific microclades. YFull shows clear structure separating highland Peruvian, Bolivian and western Andean clusters. Internal divergence times indicate steady long term in situ differentiation rather than a single rapid pulse. The branch helps illuminate the deep paternal history of Andean populations.
- Q-F4674*
- Andean microclades in Peru and Bolivia
- Pacific slope subbranches
Notes & context
Q-F4674 provides a crucial complement to Amazonian Q-Y9032 by representing the early Andean side of the founding Native American paternal landscape. Because the Andean region preserves numerous archaeological sites with good DNA preservation, Q-F4674 is likely to appear in future ancient genomes at high resolution and will clarify the earliest phases of Andean population structure.
References & external links