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Haplogroup Q-Y4276

Q-Y4276 (M3 parallel lineage, North American core)

Macro-haplogroup

Parent clade

Q-M3

Formed (estimate)

c. 13,000–14,000 years before present

TMRCA (estimate)

c. 9,000–11,000 years ago

Y4276

Overview

Q-Y4276 is a major downstream lineage of Q-M3 and constitutes one of the deepest splits within Native American paternal variation. Emerging shortly after the formation of M3, Y4276 represents a founding population that diverged early within North America, forming a sister clade to Y4300 and other regional expansions. Its structure reflects early Holocene population movements in the northern interior regions of the continent.

Geographic distribution

Y4276 is especially common among northern plains, subarctic and forest-zone Native American groups. It has notable representation in Cree, Ojibwe, Athabaskan-admixed groups, and several northern Algonquian-speaking peoples. Some branches extend into the western Great Lakes area.

Ancient DNA

Ancient individuals from early Holocene contexts in the northern interior show ancestry consistent with Y4276-derived lineages.
The age of Y4276 suggests diversification during the period when populations were expanding southward and eastward from initial entry points.
Its pattern aligns with archaeological dispersal sequences associated with post-glacial environmental change.

Phylogeny & subclades

Q-Y4276 is parallel to Q-Y4300 and Q-M848, and together they form the foundational set of early branching events under Q-M3. Its internal substructure includes branches tied to northern interior ecological zones.

Q-Y4276*
Regional interior NA branches

Notes & context