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Haplogroup Q-Z781

Q-Z781 (Interior North American post-Clovis lineage)

Macro-haplogroup

Parent clade

Q-Z780

Formed (estimate)

c. 14,000–16,000 years before present

TMRCA (estimate)

c. 9,000–11,000 years ago

Z781

Overview

Q-Z781 is a major subclade of Q-Z780 and represents an early expansion lineage within North America shortly after the initial post-Clovis population dispersals. Its structure aligns with the demographic growth in the interior northern regions following the retreat of the Laurentide ice sheets, marking one of the early radiation events of M3-derived lineages under Q-Z780.

Geographic distribution

Z781 is widespread among northern Algonquian-speaking groups, including Cree and Ojibwe populations, and is also present among some Great Lakes and Subarctic communities. It forms a genetic backbone of interior North American paternal ancestry.

Ancient DNA

Ancient subarctic and interior North American specimens show ancestry consistent with Z781-related branches.
The estimated TMRCA corresponds to early Holocene environmental shifts across the Great Lakes and forest regions.
Z781 diversification maps well onto known archaeological expansions of northern Archaic populations.

Phylogeny & subclades

Z781 sits as one of the largest downstream branches of Z780 and contains multiple short-branch clusters typical of early founder expansions. It is phylogenetically parallel to Z782 and Y2816.

Q-Z781*
Regional NA interior subbranches

Notes & context