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Haplogroup Q-M848 (Arawak Macro-Branch)

Q-M848 (Arawak Macro-Branch)

Macro-haplogroup

Parent clade

Q-M848

Formed (estimate)

c. 13,000–15,000 years before present

TMRCA (estimate)

c. 3,500–6,000 years ago

M848

Overview

This lineage corresponds to the Arawak-related expansions that spread through the upper and central Amazon Basin and later extended into the Caribbean. Q-M848 Arawak branches represent a major demographic and cultural force in Amazonian prehistory. Their distribution mirrors early large-scale settlements, long-distance river trade systems, and the formation of complex language networks in western and central Amazonia.

Geographic distribution

Common among Arawak-speaking groups in Peru, Brazil, Colombia, and Bolivia. Present in populations along the Purus, Juruá, and Madeira rivers. Traces of this lineage appear in Caribbean populations due to Arawakan migrations prior to European contact.

Ancient DNA

Ancient western Amazonian genomes show ancestry closely tied to Arawak-associated M848 lineages.
Temporal placement fits with early ceramic traditions and horticultural settlement nodes in western Amazonia.
Arawak macro-branch patterns align with archaeological models of riverine expansions and interregional cultural exchange.

Phylogeny & subclades

Structured into several riverine branches, including Purus–Juruá and Madeira-linked subclusters. Each cluster mirrors distinct Arawak cultural distribution zones.

Purus Arawak cluster
Madeira Arawak cluster
Juruá river cluster

Notes & context