Overview
Q1-F1096 is the primary downstream branch of Q-M242 and represents the lineage that eventually gave rise to the vast majority of Q diversity in both Eurasia and the Americas. This clade emerged during the Late Upper Paleolithic among north Eurasian hunter-gatherers who inhabited regions stretching from the Yenisei basin to the Altay-Sayan mountain system. Its expansion reflects both climatic fluctuations during the terminal Pleistocene and the developing ecological specialization of early ANE-descended populations.
Geographic distribution
Q1-F1096 is distributed across Siberia, Central Asia and the Americas, with its highest modern diversity occurring in north-central Eurasia. Its two main branches—Q1a and Q1b—follow distinct geographical trajectories, with Q1a producing the American founding lineages and Q1b diversifying across Central Asia, Iran, the Caucasus and parts of the Middle East.
Ancient DNA
- Ancient north Eurasian samples show relationships to Q1-level lineages, particularly those from the Lake Baikal and Altay regions.
- The timing of Q1 expansion overlaps with the hypothesized period of Beringian standstill, during which ancestral American populations may have remained isolated.
- Distribution patterns of modern Q1 diversity reflect multiple episodes of Holocene migration and founder effects.
Phylogeny & subclades
Q1-F1096 splits into two major branches: Q1a-MEH2, ancestral to Native American Q lineages; and Q1b-M378, associated with Central and West Asian populations.
Notes & context
Q1-F1096 is crucial for understanding both the origins of Native American paternal ancestry and the Holocene expansions of Q1b in Eurasia.
References & external links