haplogroups.info
Y-DNA Haplogroup Atlas

A · BT · CT · F · K · P · P1 · Q-M242 · Q1-F1096 · Q1b-M378 · Q-M346 · Q-L330 · Q-YP771

Haplogroup Q-YP771

Q-YP771 (Altai and Proto steppe Turkic branch)

Macro-haplogroup
Q
Parent clade
Q-L330
Formed (estimate)
c. 8,000 to 9,000 years before present
TMRCA (estimate)
c. 7,000 to 8,000 years ago

Overview

Q-YP771 is a downstream branch of Q-L330 that represents one of the early radiations of Q1b lineages across the eastern Eurasian steppe. The clade is strongly associated with ancient and modern populations around the Altai and Sayan mountains and has been linked in genetic discussions to steppe cultures that preceded and overlapped with early Turkic and Xiongnu related groups. Its position under Q-L330 and its time depth suggest that Q-YP771 formed in the same broad Altai Sayan homeland where many proto Turkic and Neosiberian populations emerged.

Geographic distribution

Modern carriers of Q-YP771 and its descendants are found in Altai Sayan and Central Asian populations, including Turkic and Mongolic speaking groups. The branch is present in Mongolians, Tuvans and related southern Siberian communities, and it also appears in scattered individuals from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and other Central Asian states. Occasional samples in regions as far as Egypt and the Middle East, documented in regional Y trees and projects, likely reflect later movements of steppe lineages rather than independent origins.

Ancient DNA

  • Ancient DNA analyses of Xiongnu and other steppe nomad burials in Mongolia and the Baikal region have identified Q-L330 derived lineages, including specific subclades of the Q-YP771 branch, in Iron Age elite and commoner graves.
  • Haplogroup mapping projects and ancient sample catalogues link Q-YP771 and its children to burials from the Slab Grave and related cultural complexes, which are often discussed as part of the pre Turkic cultural matrix of the eastern steppe.
  • The estimated formation time of Q-YP771 around the early to middle Holocene fits with a scenario in which early Altai and Sayan populations carrying this lineage later contributed ancestry to multiple steppe confederations, including Proto Turkic groups.

Phylogeny & subclades

Q-YP771 is placed under Q-L330 on both YFull and FTDNA Discover. It defines a trunk that gives rise to further downstream branches such as Q-BZ180 and Q-BZ433. Branch length and divergence times indicate that Q-YP771 itself is relatively old, whereas some of its subclades underwent stronger expansion during the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age. This pattern matches archaeological evidence for growing mobility and social complexity on the eastern steppe during that period.

  • Q-YP771* (basal Altai Sayan paragroup)
  • Q-BZ180 (Xiongnu and steppe associated branch)
  • Q-BZ433 and related early Bronze Age Yenisei and Baikal branches

Notes & context

Q-YP771 is important in discussions of Proto Turkic and Xiongnu era paternal lineages because it appears repeatedly in both ancient and modern datasets from the Altai Sayan zone. Its downstream branch Q-BZ180 has been reported in Cis Baikal Neolithic and Early Xiongnu individuals, underlining the long standing connection between this genetic lineage and the archaeological cultures of the eastern steppe.