Overview
Haplogroup R-Y37 represents a downstream branch under R-M73 that emerged among mid Holocene forager groups living along the transitional ecozone between the forest belt of southern Siberia and the eastern steppe fringe. The Y37 lineage likely corresponded to populations that practiced seasonal mobility, shifting between upland hunting territories in warmer months and riverine fishing grounds during colder seasons. This dual ecological adaptation is reflected in the modest but structured phylogeny of the lineage. Archaeological evidence from the southern Siberian forest steppe during this period shows technological uniformity and strong continuity in microlithic traditions. These patterns align with the genetic stability inferred from Y37, which does not display signs of rapid Bronze Age type expansion but instead suggests long term survival of smaller forager groups. The lineage persisted at least until the early Bronze Age, as indicated by upstream signals in several archaeological contexts where forest forager ancestry coexists with the first steppe pastoralist intrusions. In the modern era, R-Y37 is rare and tends to appear in small frequencies among populations inhabiting the Ob Yenisei interfluve and the eastern Altai foothills. Its survival points to the persistence of pre Indo European and pre Turkic paternal lineages in sheltered ecological niches unaffected by the dominant Bronze Age and Iron Age demographic shifts. Y37 therefore provides a genetic window into Holocene forager landscapes of southern Siberia.