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Haplogroup Q-Z19400 (Riverine Amazon–Tapajós Lineage)

Q-Z19400 Riverine lineage (Lower Amazon and Madeira–Tapajós networks)

Macro-haplogroup

Parent clade

Q-Z19400

Formed (estimate)

c. 12,000–14,000 years before present

TMRCA (estimate)

c. 5,000–8,000 years ago

Z19400

Overview

The riverine branch of Q-Z19400 represents a major paternal lineage that expanded along the interconnected waterway systems of the Amazon Basin. It likely emerged among early Holocene populations specializing in floodplain ecology and riverine mobility. Its distribution mirrors the archaeological corridors linking the Madeira, Tapajós, Xingu and Lower Amazon networks, which hosted some of the earliest large-scale Amazonian cultural complexes.

Geographic distribution

Strongly concentrated in riverine populations along the Madeira, Tapajós and Lower Amazon basins. Also occurs in some Arawak and Karib groups that historically migrated along major water routes.

Ancient DNA

Ancient DNA from várzea-associated archaeological contexts shows ancestry consistent with Z19400-Riverine branches.
Temporal estimates align with early woodworking, sedentary riverine villages and the rise of nutrient-rich anthropogenic soils (terra preta).
Phylogeographic distribution tracks prehistoric canoe-based mobility between Amazon tributaries.

Phylogeny & subclades

This lineage forms one of the major subclusters under Z19400, with multiple parallel microbranches representing river-specific expansions.

Madeira river cluster
Tapajós cluster
Lower Amazon cluster

Notes & context