Overview
Haplogroup R-Y28 is one of the oldest downstream branches of the R-M73 lineage and represents an important paternal layer within the early Holocene populations of the Eurasian steppe and forest-steppe belt. Its formation coincides with the post-glacial period when hunter-gatherer groups were expanding across Inner Asia during the stabilization of early Holocene climates. Genetic patterns associated with Y28 suggest that it emerged among mobile foraging groups occupying the western Siberian forest zone and northern Kazakhstan. R-Y28 displays a phylogenetic structure that points to long-term demographic continuity in sparsely populated regions. Unlike later Bronze Age expansions associated with pastoralist groups, Y28’s dispersal reflects much earlier cultural patterns that predate the widespread adoption of metallurgy or domesticated animals. Its deep time depth and gradual geographic diffusion align with archaeological phases involving Mesolithic-to-Neolithic transitions in the Trans-Ural region and the Altai foothills. Today, R-Y28 appears at low frequencies across western Siberia, northern Kazakhstan, and scattered pockets of the Volga–Ural area. Its survival indicates that certain Holocene-era forager paternal lines persisted through later demographic waves dominated by steppe pastoralists. Y28 is therefore an important lineage for reconstructing the earliest phases of R-M73-related demographic history.