Overview
Haplogroup R-M207 is the SNP-defined form of haplogroup R and represents one of the most successful paternal lineages in Eurasian prehistory. It descends from haplogroup P and likely arose during the Upper Paleolithic in a region spanning North Asia, Central Asia or parts of the broader Iranian Plateau. Ancient DNA and modern population data indicate that R-M207 formed within the wider Ancient North Eurasian genetic horizon, which contributed ancestry both to later West Eurasians and to Native American populations.
R-M207 experienced substantial demographic growth during the Late Pleistocene and the early Holocene. Its two main branches, R1 (R-M173) and R2 (R-M479), later gave rise to enormous paternal radiations that shaped the genetic landscape of Europe, Central Asia, South Asia and parts of the Near East. R-M207 itself is rarely seen today in a truly basal form, but a small number of ancient and modern individuals belong to paragroup R*, preserving traces of the earliest stages of this lineage.
The macro-haplogroup R-M207 provides a phylogenetic link between early Upper Paleolithic populations of Siberia, Central Asia and Eastern Europe and the later Bronze Age expansions associated with Indo-European and Indo-Iranian language families. It is therefore a key ancestral node for understanding the formation of much of the paternal variation in western Eurasia.
Geographic distribution
As a basal node, R-M207 is best represented through the distributions of its primary descendants R1 and R2. These combined lineages are common across Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia and South Asia, and also appear at lower frequencies in the Near East, Siberia and North Africa. Rare basal R-M207(xR1,R2) has been reported in Central Asia, including Kyrgyz populations, and in ancient remains from Siberia.
Ancient DNA
- A 24,000-year-old individual from the Mal'ta-Buret' culture near Lake Baikal in Siberia carried a basal R* lineage closely related to R-M207.
- Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic hunter-gatherers in northern Eurasia show ancestry consistent with early R-M207-bearing populations.
- R-M207 has been reported at low frequency in modern Kyrgyz men in eastern Kyrgyzstan, reflecting survival of very old basal structure.
- Later ancient samples from Europe and Central Asia typically carry R1 or R2 subclades, indicating strong expansion of R-M207 descendants.
Phylogeny & subclades
R-M207 is the parent of the two major branches R1 (R-M173) and R2 (R-M479). Both of these lineages underwent extensive diversification during the Holocene, while truly basal R-M207 lineages remain extremely rare.
- R1 (R-M173)
- R2 (R-M479)
- Rare basal R* (R-M207(xR1,R2))
Notes & context
In this atlas, the generic entry "R" represents the broader concept of haplogroup R, while R-M207 provides the SNP-defined backbone node from which R1 and R2 emerge. Basal R* is extremely rare and known mostly from ancient DNA, but it is important for reconstructing the earliest phases of R diversification.
References & external links