Overview
Haplogroup R-P297 is one of the most important early branches of R1b and forms the lineage from which both the large European expansions of R-M269 and the Asian centered branches R-M73 and R-M478 emerged. P297 therefore represents the ancestral trunk of nearly all surviving R1b diversity outside central Africa. Its origin lies among late Upper Paleolithic or early Holocene populations inhabiting regions that stretch from the eastern European forest steppe to western Siberia. Populations carrying P297 likely played a central role in the formation of the Ancient North Eurasian genetic profile that later contributed to both European hunter gatherers and steppe pastoralists. As environmental conditions improved after the Last Glacial Maximum, P297 lineages appear to have spread both westward toward eastern Europe and southward or eastward into Central Asia. R-P297 eventually split into two major daughter branches: R-M73 and R-M478, dominant among early Asian R1b groups, and R-M269, which became the most common haplogroup in western Europe during the Bronze Age. This bifurcation marks a major turning point in Eurasian population history and separates the ancient Asian R1b heritage from the later Indo European expansions across Europe. Archaeogenetic studies indicate that early P297 related groups contributed significantly to the genetic profile of early steppe populations. These populations later gave rise to wide ranging migrations that shaped European prehistory, making P297 a cornerstone lineage for understanding Bronze Age demographics.